A Thousand Dreams
by yamada michiko
Summary: Humans are resilient, fickle-minded. He had already known that and had paid the price for it. He just wanted a long, quiet life, if he was not allowed to be happy, then perhaps just exist according to the laws of the universe. But fate seemed on hell-bent on giving him the opposite, because then he meets the person who will prove otherwise. Is it worth giving up everything though?
1. Prologue

_**Yep, so this one is new. I am experimenting with a lot of things right now, and I seriously am hoping that this will help me get back on track. I do hope you guys are still there.**_

 _ **I am seriously losing hope for Beyond Forever. I might take it down, and repost it as soon as I have a new material for it, as suggested my beloved sister from an another mother, Loyu-chan (author of one of the fictions I am loving so much, Rebirth, go ahead and read it if you haven't yet!) and hopefully, I will be able to continue that in the future. And yet, here I am, posting a new fic, which says a lot about how I am trying my best with creating more fics for these two. Bear with me guys.**_

 _ **This fic has a different genre, in case you've noticed, so as you can see I am challenging myself. Let's hope I get my touch back in this fic. Just to remind you as well, this one is an AU, so an early warning as well; the characters here might be OOC. Don't say I didn't warn you.**_

 _ **That said, please go ahead and read.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Chihayafuru is still not mine. If it is, Taichi wouldn't have to go through all that heartbreak and trouble.**_

* * *

 **A Thousand Dreams**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _1005, Heian-Jidai_

"After him!"

He ran, uncaring as to whatever he had stepped on, refusing to acknowledge the blinding pain searing on his left arm and foot, blood trailing down to the ground he was running on and already soaking his royal blue outer robe. His eyes were slowly turning to their normal blue and dark slits for pupils, and he could feel his fangs beginning to protrude from his mouth, growing past his lips.

A group of people was closely following him, each carrying torches, spears, swords, arrows and some other forms of weapons humans had created. Really, he could almost salute them for their progress, if only he wasn't the one in the middle of a demon hunt and was being currently targeted.

"How dare you deceive us! A monster consorting with our kind! To think he would be able to fool us for long!"

He resisted the urge to laugh out derisively. A monster consorting with their kind, eh? After he had tried everything to remain true to his disguise and not harm them, tried to live with them even when he knew what might happen had his identity been revealed, he had decided to trust in them and their ability to understand.

Fat lot of good it did him in the end.

He almost let out a howl of agony when his injured foot slipped past a moss-covered dirt road which his feet had directed him to, straight into the direction of the forest. He had bitten his lip so hard in an attempt to cover his cries of agony, wanting to be able to outrun those humans just so he could hide away in peace and never have to interact with any of them again. Despite of them already having him targeted in a demon hunt, he had no desire to hurt them. He wondered if his time with them had somewhat tamed his infamous terrifying nature.

Pathetic.

He stumbled past a large oak tree and found that his strength had already given out, the pain already having spread further in his body, as if every fiber in his arm and foot could not take the torture of pain and had decided to spread it further in his body to be able to deal with it. He slumped down ungracefully on the oak's roots, - forgetting his injured foot that he nearly almost let out another howl – breath catching and coming in gasps, his sharpened vision scanning the environment around him as he clutched his arm which was still bleeding profusely.

"Find the monster and burn him!" A yell resonated throughout the area, sounding dangerously close to his position.

A low growl slipped past his teeth which he almost bit his lip for again. He hadn't meant for that to come out, but he just wanted them to leave him alone. He was already injured by the poisonous arrows (which shouldn't have an effect on his body in the first place, only that tonight was when 1Tsukuyomi decided to have the moon on full and thereby weakened his self-healing abilities, the airhead bastard) which were shot at him and had just _luckily_ grazed him.

But son of seven hells, were the lucky shots still so painful.

He laid his head on the trunk of the said tree, praying, (he shuddered at having done so, he had never called on any deity in the past), that they will not be able to spot him and they will just move on with their intent to kill something else, preferably _not_ him. He didn't want to raise a hand against them.

He also, truthfully, didn't know what had happened to him. In his time in a human's guise, his terrifying nature must have left him. He can never deny the fact that he had changed a lot, which was bound to happen when you interact with people and not _terrorize_ them instead, and that he had learned that there was more to humans than just scaring their wits out of them or making them into dinner. And that's saying something, considering that despite of the fact that he had never hurt a human before, (though he had the habit of appearing out of nowhere just to scare the living daylights out of them,) he had preferred to just leave them alone after giving them a good scare and find some other source of meaty dinner, which other demons would never consider.

He was the laughing stock of his kind, a disgrace to them as they call it. It was what probably pushed him to disguise himself as a human – maybe he just wanted to find peace in his life, if there was such a thing for his kind.

He had just wanted to live a quiet life, - or some semblance of it anyway, and also die quietly one day, preferably not by being burned alive. Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently, it was.

"Find him! Find the demon and eradicate him! We cannot allow him to roam free!"

He hissed. The yell alone made his wound throb. And this time, the yell sounded too close to his hiding place for comfort.

He needed to move.

But how can he move when his vision was starting to swim, and he felt as if the ground beneath him would split in two? He needed to find a better place, somewhere near a stream, so that he can recuperate better. Though how in seven hells he would even do so escaped him.

Summoning what strength he had left, he stood up slowly, supporting himself with the tree trunk. He hated feeling weak like this. If he had some of his normal strength he would be able to use his teleportation abilities.

Well, he cannot whine like a goddamn baby. He needed to move.

Thinking that the hunting party had already gone past his position, he took a step forward, another hiss slipping past his gritted teeth as he tried to step as quietly as he could without jostling his injured foot too much. He rose quietly from slumping on the oak tree, and with vision whirling, he forced himself to move forward.

Only for an arrow with a flaming head to miss his right ear narrowly and hit the trunk of the tree in front of him.

"HE HAS FALLEN INTO THE TRAP! BURN HIM!"

A prayer he had heard somewhere floated in his mind, as he tried his best to move faster.

 _Kind deity from the heavens,_

 _I pray that you listen to my pleas_

 _Grant me the strength to continue on and live_

 _I may not be worthy of your acknowledgement_

 _Nor worthy of your favorable gaze_

 _But this I ask of you_

 _Grant me the power to survive and to win,_

 _Should I encounter such difficulties_

 _The power to unlimit my patience and knowledge_

 _For those who do not understand a being such as I,_

 _Grant me the strength not to use my power to harm_

 _To kill and to hurt_

 _But rather give me the grace_

 _To protect using such power,_

 _And to love boundlessly_

 _Just as you has hoped for us to do so._

He could feel his eyes stinging. He knew what the stinging's cause was but he refused to acknowledge it. All he could see were flaming arrows whizzing past him and striking the ground beneath him, setting the ground on fire and looking as if hell had decided to rise up to earth and cover him.

He watched everything start to catch fire and burn as he moved forward sluggishly, as if he had swallowed ten bottles of the best sake in town with admiring courtesans who were singing and accompanying him for the night. Well he would have preferred that alternative if only to escape the wrath of his kind's enemy since the dawn of time.

He felt a wetness on his cheeks, though he refused to acknowledge what it was. No. Acknowledging it would mean that he had lost to humankind, which would turn to wrath, and which would lead him to unleashing it on them, which in turn, would mean death to everyone in the godforsaken hunting party.

No. He would not soil his hands with a human's blood.

He could hear the prayer resonating in his ears, as if someone was singing it to him. Well, in hindsight, he should have known that this was coming.

If this was the way that he was going to die, well, he could probably accept it.

 _Forgive me, Tsukiko… I don't think I can fulfill my promise to you._

The last thing he saw was the dancing orange flames as if enticing him to join in their dance.

And probably forever disappear.

* * *

1 Tsukiyomi - also known as Tsukuyomi or Tsukiyomi no Mikoto, is the Japanese and Shinto God of the Moon, and is said to be the brother of Susanoo no Mikoto, the God of the Sea and storms in Japanese Mythology.

* * *

 _ **Hi! So thank you for giving this fic a chance. Good news, Chapter 1 is already in progress. Stay tuned for the update!**_

 _ **Let me know your thoughts as well. Like it? Want to strangle the author? Excited for the next chapter? Cliff-hanger? Hmm probably. You can click the little button there below and leave a review!**_

 _ **Lovelots guys!**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Oooookay! I am so glad that some of my beloved readers are still here and cheering me on. Thank you, thank you, thank you for believing that I will be back. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing that you guys really wanted me to write another fic for these two. Kudos to all of us who dearly ship TaiChihaya.**_

 _ **This chapter is mainly dedicated to Loyu-chan. She had never stopped believing in me even when it looked like I am reaching the end of my writing for this couple. Thank you sis. Lovelots. Let's all hope that I will not run out of inspiration for this particular fic. The last thing I want is for the same thing to happen here, like I have experienced for Beyond Forever.**_

 _ **Shout out to everyone who had left reviews for the Prologue. Let's hope you guys love this chapter as well.**_

 _ **And without further ado, I present to you the first chapter!**_

* * *

 **I**

 _Ueno Park, Tokyo, Kanto, Year 2016, Heisei-Jidai_

* * *

"Look over there, Chihaya-chan! Yes! You nailed it! Beautiful!"

High-strung praises and comments rang in her ear as she turned her gaze up to the sakura tree in full bloom, taking care not to accidentally rip the sleeve of her kimono as a smile graced her full lips. She held out a hand to the flying sakura petals around her for full effect, which literally made the photographer click his camera away madly, almost jumping around in his haste to capture the best, picture-perfect moment of her shots.

"Oh sweet Goddess! You literally are a Goddess! You are so _gorgeous_!" He exclaimed madly, lowering his DSLR down to gaze at the shots and smiling so widely it looked like it would hurt his cheeks. "Let's take a break, and we'll be packing up in ten minutes!"

"You didn't have to lie that much, Nobu-chan. I know I looked terrible." The female fondly called 'Chihaya-chan' spoke in a rather shrewd and mischievous tone, as she was immediately swarmed by members of her crew as she lowered her hand down to relax, and she went over to him, lifting the hem of her 1junihitoe for her to avoid getting it soiled so that she can look at the pictures over his shoulder. A water bottle was handed to her and she accepted it gratefully, unscrewing the cap and lifting it her lips so she could drink, careful not to smudge her lipstick.

"I am not lying. How can I lie in the first place woman? What I am telling you was the truth! These pictures are enough proof of your beauty!" Nobu exclaimed almost dramatically, though she can attest that what he has been telling her was genuine. " _This_ is why I loved working with you! You are a true living 2Hojo Masako-sama!"

Chihaya smiled, although the smile was a little strained. "I would probably prefer to be likened to 3Murasaki Shikibu-sama. I mean, at least her life was quiet and simple – or as simple as it can be for one of the first Japanese women to learn how to write Chinese characters secretly."

Nobu looked at her in a way that showed his almost-surprised expression, as if he couldn't believe that she knew such a thing and for just that she felt almost offended. "Excuse me, I happen to pay attention in my History class before." She hedged in a half-joking, half-annoyed tone.

"I am not saying that you don't. I mean it's good that you do know your history." He immediately clarified, smiling a little mischievously himself. "Now, choose. Which one do you like the best?"

She took the DSLR and started browsing through the shots, smiling with ones that she liked. Nobu knew how to find out which ones she liked and really loved – one nod for the shots she thought she looked good in, two nods for the shots she loved and really thought conveyed the theme more. He and Chihaya are alike in this regard – which is also the reason why he really liked working with her. They almost think alike, and it made the work lighter and easier. Chihaya was only one of the few models in Japan – and possibly in the whole wide world as well – who knew how she should _properly_ present herself to the public, and he wasn't at all surprised at the fact that most of the experts and well-known photographers in the world were all clamoring to work with her. He knew that the fame really does run in the family – her older sister, Ayase Chitose, had first entered the modeling field years ago and had gotten famous at such a young age.

Chihaya, the younger sister of Ayase Chitose, used to be known because of her sister alone. But over the last few years, she had started making a name for herself, once people realized that she wasn't just some younger sister of a famous model. He was just a starting photographer looking for a big break at the time when he had met her through Chitose, who was the one to discover such hidden potential and talent for his photography, and she offered her help to help him make it big in the industry if he promises not to be too choosy for his subject. She had dragged Chihaya, who was almost kicking and screaming at her sister (thinking it was just another evil scheme of the older Ayase) for having just dragged her into his studio without any proper explanation, but once he saw her, his instincts told him that she was the one.

Well, his instincts had been right. Once Chihaya had agreed to be the subject of his photography, (after Chitose had to bribe her with a week's worth of lunches,) they arranged the shoot immediately.

He and Chihaya had clicked instantly – they moved around each other in a way as if they had already known each other for a long time and knew each other's habits, which really made the work easier and funnier – there was never a shoot they had spent working together that they hadn't laughed. Chihaya can be downright amusing if she wanted to be.

And such a one-time, spur-of-the-moment thing turned out to be their ticket – his and Chihaya's – to recognition and fame.

He will be forever grateful to this woman. He knew Chihaya felt the same, - it was just who she was. She reciprocated gratitude, and Chihaya, he was proud to say, had not lost her head with her sudden fame and popularity as what his fear was when Chihaya had gotten famous. In all fairness, despite of the stress and all the attention, she was still able to deal with it accordingly and not let it go to her head.

"What do you think?" Chihaya's voice snapped him from his thoughts, and he shook his head minutely as he turned his attention back to her and to the camera she held in one hand.

He gave a nod at the pictures she had chosen as he scrolled through the list. "Yep, I've also chosen these before I showed them to you."

Chihaya clucked her tongue jokingly. "Why ask me as to what you should use then? You have a better eye than me!"

Nobu, which was actually short for Nobuhiko, did an expressive eye roll. "I do value your opinion sweetheart! Please don't lump me in with those morons who do not give a shit to their models' opinions. Excuse my French." He made a show of the tossing the pictures away and placing a hand on his chest, indicating that he couldn't believe she was hurting him by being so insensitive.

Chihaya's answering, bell-like laughter resounded around them, all silver and tinkling like wind chimes, making the whole crew, who was tuned in to their conversation as they packed things up, smile as well. The crew had always loved the model, knowing she was the only one who can make the boisterous photographer act like that on-or-off set, the only one the photographer trusted enough to let his usual bubbly, gay side actually be existent.

Once she had calmed down enough from her laughing fit, the younger Ayase stepped sideways to give way for a passing crew member carrying a large reflector, and she gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "I'm terribly sorry for hurting your feelings, Nobu-chan! It won't happen again, I promise." She gave the man a joking pat on the head as he gave a huge guffaw at her antics. She looked around, saw how everyone was hard at packing up from the shoot already, and sighed dramatically. "Okay, so joking time is over – I should start changing. I don't want to ruin this, this is worth more than my house." She chuckled at her own statement, motioning to her junihitoe. "Not to mention it was getting terribly hot."

"Now that you mention it, it _is_ getting warmer here." Nobu agreed. "Kindly assist her for changing please! Thank you." He nodded at one of Chihaya's assistants who motioned the five-foot-six model into one of their changing tents.

Before Chihaya could get one step further though, a loud screech filled her ears, and looked up just in time to see what looked a motorbike skidding to her direction, as if it had gone on a rampage through the park. Chihaya could see the driver's eyes through his helmet, his eyes wide with unmistakable panic and fear, confirming that the motorbike was about to hit her in just a few nanoseconds.

Nobu, who had just looked up from the camera as he was saving the pictures needed for the magazine and heard the loud, ear-splitting noise due to the monster wheels skidding across the pavement, felt his mouth drop open and looked on almost helplessly in alarm as he seemed to watch in a slow motion – the motorbike heading towards a frozen, fear-stricken Chihaya, who couldn't get out of the way in time.

The scent of burning rubber filled his nostrils and he barely heard his own scream filling the air.

"Chihaya-chan!"

* * *

RRRRRRRRRRRINGGGGGGGGGG!

The brunette asleep heavily on a king-sized four poster bed jolted awake into a sitting position, horribly disoriented and unamused, looking around immediately, gaze sharp and cutting, looking as if he was expecting to see people dressed in ancient kimonos and carrying bright, large, burning torches yelling to burn him alive and possibly set his condo on fire.

Not.

The incessant ringing of his alarm clock was hell and making his ears ache. His fingers itched to snap the thing in two, though he had to take a deep breath to calm himself down. The poor thing was just doing it's job, not in any way trying to annoy the hell out of him. Although there was no denying the fact that he really wanted to smash it in two just to cut off the shrill ringing noise and get a sense of satisfaction from it.

He really wanted to find the one who invented this thing and smack him upside down in the head. Possibly tell him to go and do other things and use his brain for other, far more productive things than a clock which people smash everyday in their annoyance for it waking them up.

But no. He had to restrain himself. It really was not going to help if he smashes the fifth alarm clock his cool, scary best friend, (if one could even call her a friend,) had bought for him.

"Alright, alright. I'm awake." He said to no one in particular, reaching over and gently pushing the off button (not the snooze button! Ha. Despite of his annoyance, he was probably only one of the few people in the world who never used the snooze button) and covering his mouth with a slender arm as he yawned, snorting to himself at the word 'people' at the same time.

He wasn't about to just lump himself in with them again. Not now. Probably not ever. He had already learned his lesson the hard way.

He got up uneasily, cracking his shoulders and neck, hearing the popping sound with slight satisfaction as he stood and made his bed. His thoughts wandered back to his dream.

 _Again. That memory again. Why on earth am I even dreaming of that now?_

It was one of the memories he knew he had already buried far in the recesses of his mind, one of the memories he had carefully locked in a drawer and sealed away just not to make a conscious effort of remembering it. It was too painful, too traumatizing even. Honestly, him and the word 'traumatized' was not supposed to go in one sentence, but he knew that that particular memory had changed him a lot.

In so many ways. Both good… and bad. Well, probably more bad than good.

Shaking his head from the negative, repressive thoughts clouding his mind so early in the morning, he straightened up, satisfied with the way he had arranged his bed, covers without a single crease. It was a sign of a good start for his day.

…Right. With his luck, he will probably get called to work despite today being a day off for him.

He padded out of his room and into his adjoining bathroom across the hall, lowering his head to the sink and letting the tap water flow into his awaiting mouth before spitting it out, then gathering the water in his hands and splashing his face to help keep him awake. He then proceeded to his kitchen, before pivoting on his heels with stunning agility and grace, turning on the lights as he went and started his day. He went to his mailbox first and checked for any mails, whistling a bit as he saw one thick envelope along the pile of junk mails.

He turned the envelope over, nearly choking a bit as he saw what exactly the thick envelope was for.

 _Oh. So they decided to go ahead and tie the knot huh. I'll probably need to attend. Ugh._ _Humans and their crazy traditions._

He went back to his kitchen and proceeded to make himself some toast and roast some coffee. Biting into a fresh croissant already delivered earlier to his door and letting it hang from his mouth (and still managing to look so annoyingly attractive for someone who had a piece of pastry hanging from his mouth,) he went into the motions of preparing the coffee beans for his breakfast.

He took a deep breath as the coffee he was roasting started steaming. Ah. At least humans had done and invented something right in their ridiculous lives.

Coffee and it's undying partner: the coffee maker.

He absolutely couldn't live without it.

He went to his phone and started checking for voice mails. There was one from his friend at work, asking if he was actually free to hang out today. He snorted. He was technically free yes, but he actually had some early engagement already, so that would be a no. Besides, even if he wasn't attending something else, he isn't planning to waste a rare free time-off with some guy whose only goal was to meet and possibly lure women into his trap.

Human males and their instincts.

He was waiting for another message and frowned when the voice operator chirped that that would be the end of the voicemails. Not that he was expecting an entire horde of voicemails or something – being alone in his long, long life and him not exactly belonging to the human species had not exactly made it possible for him to have a family or something – but he _is_ expecting a message from her about their outing today.

That's strange. Well, she had always been strange to begin with, but this was unusual even for her.

He didn't want to think that anything has happened to her, because in the first place, she hated someone fussing over her. But he sure is hoping that everything was okay.

While waiting for the coffee to continue brewing, he grabbed the remote for the television mounted from the far wall which made up his living room just for something to kill the silence and switched it on. Handsome face twisted into a grimace at the news he was seeing, people from the same race bombing each other just to have their autonomy in one area, a child attempting to swim in an open canal during one raging typhoon day and having his body float after three days, another barely-teen girl having been abused by her uncle.

 _What the? And I wonder what makes humans so special._

He was forced to settle on a cartoon showing a cat who has a dog for a tail, not wanting to ruin his mood for the day with all the negative news he was seeing earlier. He felt, rather than heard, the coffee steaming and he proceeded back to the kitchen.

Only for him to stop in his tracks and clutch his head.

A vision swam in front of his eyelids, almost burning his retinas at the sudden bright images. He was looking at a… motorbike skidding across the pavement? Yeah. And it was heading to a sort of feminine figure whose face he couldn't decipher, as if he was watching a badly-recorded film.

 _Why the hell is this happening again!?_

His vision cleared as the images faded away into nothingness. Sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead, and he knew his hands were shaking.

It had been a long time since he had experienced seeing visions. A _VERY_ long time. Seeing visions used to be his forte before, but he honestly cursed himself for having such an ability when he knew what was about to happen and he couldn't lift a single finger to save the one woman who had truly cared for him… eons ago.

He bit back an ancient curse from escaping his lips. Now was most definitely not the time for this. He had a coffee waiting for him.

A little cheered up with the thought of coffee and still reeling from the vision he had, he decided to get on with his breakfast, eating and having everything disappear down his gullet in less than two minutes. This is why he hated having visions. They make him jittery, and, dare he say it, nervous.

Standing up and dumping his used dinnerware into the sink to wash them, he proceeded to distract himself with the mundane chore, knowing that doing something so methodical was a proven way of getting someone to calm down. And it worked – as he washed his mug of coffee he felt his shoulders, so stiff and tense – relax. Step one completed. All he had to do was to continue cheering himself up so as not to be an absolute trash of a companion for the day.

He chuckled as he proceeded back to the living room and saw that the cat was arguing with her tail – which has the head of a dog. Strange, but it did distract him completely. Humans can think up of funny, ridiculous things, he had to give them that.

He proceeded to his bathroom to shower and get dressed for the day. He shrugged off his shirt and grabbed his phone as he proceeded to strip himself off the rest of his clothes, almost unconsciously bringing the phone with him to the bathroom for some unknown reason.

Just as he was about to turn the tap on, his phone rang. Loudly and clearly, the sound being magnified because of the bathroom walls that he nearly jumped, and stared at the thing as if it had grown a head and a tail.

He picked up the phone, a little ready to be annoyed at the caller for having no consideration when he saw the name of the one calling him flashing across the screen.

Ah. So that's why the caller had no consideration at all.

He swiped the screen to take the call. "Moshi-moshi - "

" _Mashima Taichi."_ A cool, feminine voice greeted him from the other end of the line, sounding monotonous and flat, but he knew her well enough to know by her tone that she was still quite annoyed at him. _"I think I did mention that I need your help today?"_

He snorted again, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "I was waiting for any voicemails from _you_ but you didn't leave any. Did you actually expect me to guess what time we should meet?"

" _I am already here in the mall, you idiot. I thought that would be obvious, seeing as you have a very busy career and we didn't exactly know if you can actually be free for the whole day."_

"Do you want me to take off again on you?" He joked, almost seeing a nerve pop on her forehead at his response.

" _The least that you can do is to hurry up and be here in five minutes! How rude, making a woman wait."_

Taichi laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls. "That's a tall order, you know, even for someone like me. Five minutes, I mean seriously?" He heard her growl at the other end in her irritation. He let out a chuckle and decided to pacify his friend. "I won't let you wait any longer if you let me go now. I was just about to take a shower when someone without any consideration called so early in the morning." He tried to sound annoyed, but really, he just wanted to annoy the hell out of her.

" _For your information, it's already nine in the morning. By normal standards that's already late."_ Her voice went across the line cuttingly, and he imagined getting cut if her words had been real daggers.

"Okay, so I get the point. I deeply apologize for infuriating you, your highness. Can I go now? I wasn't joking about being in the shower, you know. Can't a guy have some _me_ time as well?" He grumbled, almost adorably over the phone that he didn't know how he made his friend uncomfortable all of a sudden.

" _Do you honestly think I care about_ you _getting some alone time?"_

"Wakamiya Shinobu." He said threateningly in mock rage, deepening his voice and suddenly sounding different. Sounding… _inhuman_ all of a sudden. "I thought you cared enough about me to stick with me all this time and give me my happiness."

" _I do."_ She responded, sounding serious despite of herself. _"In case you haven't noticed, this is why I kept on dragging you out, no matter how much of a lost cause you are. But to even give you some alone time… Ugh, that sounds so gay."_

Just like that, the sudden seriousness in the air dissipated all of a sudden and he groaned, while laughing at the same time. "Jeez, is that really how you look at me, Shinobu?"

" _Are you sure you really don't swing_ that _way?"_

"Okay, I am _so_ not having this discussion with you." He was half-joking, half-annoyed. "I'm taking a shower right now. You can hold the line and listen to me showering if you want…" He trailed off in a devious tone, just so he can get the Ice Queen (a nickname she had earned from him which was not far from the truth,) annoyed to the far ends of the earth.

An ancient curse escaped her lips as she let out a half squeak. _"Don't you dare! Kono hentai!"_

"So leave me alone to my thing your snowy highness." He turned the tap on and let the water run, placing the phone down on the sink and the mode on loudspeaker so that she can hear him and he can talk to her without holding the phone. "And watch the language. A lady should not debase herself with such crude things."

" _I am far from a lady."_ She muttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes, you are so much more." He said, holding a hand out and catching some water so that he can start washing his hair. "But in this world you appear as one, so I am merely basing on your appearance. Now, are you really sure you don't want to listen to me showering? I don't mind, but – "

" _Shut up!"_ Her voice sounded bothered and… well, more embarrassed than he had ever heard her in their entire lifetime together. _"You're never a pervert, and I know that you're just… trying to tease me, just to provoke me and embarrass me! And the frustrating part was that it's working!"_ She sounded exasperated at the other end.

He smirked. She knew him that well. Wakamiya Shinobu doesn't get embarrassed easily as opposed to countless women he had dealt with, so he considered it his talent that he was able to get such a reaction from her, seeing as how thick-skinned she was, the normal embarrassing things women would easily blush at not really affecting her easily.

" _I'll try to walk around here first."_ When she spoke, her voice was calm, controlled, as if his provoking her had not actually worked, but he knew better. _"Be here in thirty minutes, or else."_

"Yes madam. Now let me go or I'll video myself while showering and send it to you so you will get nightmares later."

" _Don't you even think about it!"_ She threatened, and the call ended in a beep.

"Thank you for being so sweet like that, Wakamiya Shinobu." He muttered sarcastically to no one in particular again, sighing.

Oh well. He'd better get that shower he was craving, or he'll face the Ice Queen's wrath later.

* * *

True to his word, thirty minutes later he was already in one of Tokyo's famous shopping malls.

He found her in one of the mall's famous kimono stores, bent over a dark, midnight blue kimono, a silky one with the pattern of the moon shining bright on a snowy landscape. He knew that it would look perfect on her, not just because of the kimono's theme, (which was also a part of it,) but the color will bring out the blue of her eyes.

"Get it." He said in a soft, almost gentle tone so unlike him, a tone which he had used so long a time ago that it felt foreign to have such a tone coming out of his vocal chords. "I'm sure it would look good on you."

She gave no indication that she was surprised at all by his arrival, just straightening up and looking at him calmly. Well, with the amount of time they had known each other, she shouldn't be surprised already with him popping in at random places. "How did you find me?"

"Your scent." He responded simply, knowing she would understand without an explanation from him.

"Right. I keep on forgetting about those freak senses of yours." She muttered in a low tone, keeping their conversation out of prying ears. "But do you really have to dress like that?"

He looked down at what he was wearing. He was wearing a simple button-down, checkered black and red shirt, jeans and sneakers. Oh, and rimless glasses frame his amber eyes. "I do think I'm dressed decently enough. I was in a hurry, but I didn't get anything upside-down right?"

Wakamiya Shinobu resisted the urge to face-palm in such a public place. No, he didn't get anything upside-down, but her companion was attracting too much, unwanted female attention, as evidenced by the whispers that were starting to reach her heightened hearing, and he _was_ oblivious to it. "I think you should start using a garbage bag as your set of clothes." She said almost scathingly, in another matter-of-fact tone.

He raised an eyebrow at her, as if to tell her, _ignore them. Like I'm doing right now._ "Get it. It will look good on you." He said, motioning to the kimono again. "It's rare to find such clothes that will fit you nicely."

She felt compelled to acknowledge his earlier statement. "I didn't come here today to buy anything for myself."

He snorted, finally stepping closer to her and admiring the kimono himself. "I know. But it will be a waste if you don't get this one."

Shinobu glanced at the piece of mastery she can see woven into every inch of the kimono, her gaze almost sad and… otherworldly. "This one brings back too many memories."

Taichi gave her a look over his rimless glasses. She knew that he knew what she was talking about. "Regardless, it's the most perfect gift I can give you."

She looked up to him, undisguised confusion swimming in her ice-blue eyes. "A gift? What are you talking about, Taichi?"

"I mean it. If you're not getting it, I will." He started to get the kimono from it's place, tucked as carefully as it is in a corner. "It's not everyday something special like this comes your way."

Her hand shot out and gripped his arm which was holding the kimono, almost too tight which would no doubt hurt a normal human, though he was anything _but_ normal. "You are freaking me out. Why are you giving me a gift like this?" She sounded confusingly angry. "Are you trying to rope me in a wager? What do you want in return?"

Taichi used the arm she was gripping to tug her forward to him unforgivingly, lessening the distance that they were almost nose-to-nose. "Will you stop being suspicious? I am not as cold-hearted as you willingly believe in those foolish tales they made of me. I wanted to gift you with this to make up for my behavior earlier. And besides," he said as he straightened up from bending over her, as if them arguing in soft whispers are nothing but normal, "It's to honor _his_ memory. His death anniversary is coming near, isn't it?"

She almost flushed, but under his scrutiny, she didn't allow herself to be embarrassed easily. "He wouldn't want to see me donning a kimono from an another man!" She exclaimed exasperatedly, still glaring daggers at him.

"I said it's me honoring his memory. I knew how much you treasured that kimono you had worn for him once." Taichi sighed. "And I'm sure he will be happy to see you wearing something identical to that. Now just shut up and accept it, like you would a normal gift."

Before she could say anything, he flashed out of her sight already and left her so that he could stand at the cashier area. She rolled her eyes seeing how the cashier stammered out and blushed madly as he _so_ politely asked her to carefully make the payment arrangement for the kimono.

 _You'll victimize a lot of human women like that, Mashima Taichi._

"Thank you," she finally muttered lowly and almost unconvincingly as they were walking out of the store with her toting the package for the kimono well against her chest. "Though you certainly didn't have to go this far."

"You're welcome." Taichi said almost amusedly, whistling to himself all the while as they continued walking around.

"Don't expect that I will be kind to you just because of this, though."

Taichi laughed, the sound warmer that she ever could remember of him laughing. "I'm not. If you start being kind, that would just freak me out." He responded matter-of-factly, to which Shinobu couldn't help herself from smiling a little as well.

Silence ensued between them. For the two of them who had stuck with each other all these years, silence is nothing but a gift to them both. They knew how to appreciate things in silence, and to embrace it with open arms. Being a part of a busy, noisy life wasn't always a blessing, and they were both aware of it, had suffered for it, even.

He then turned to her finally, after a few more minutes of no talking between them. "So, why are we here today? You haven't exactly informed me of the agenda, you know, not even leaving a voicemail as to why you pestered me into going out on my once-in-a-lifetime precious day-offs."

Shinobu glared at him, rolling her eyes once more. "Have you forgotten baka? I'm sure you've already received the invitation as well earlier."

Taichi frowned, and then his forehead smoothed out as he finally understood what she was talking about. "You dragged me here today to pick out a wedding gift?" He said, almost incredulously, not hiding his surprise at her thoughtfulness.

She was honestly offended. "It's what's proper! I picked today because of our _impossible_ schedules; and you could help me pick out one for the happy couple about to get married a few weeks from now." She responded irritatedly, resisting the urge to smack him upside-down in the head. "I'm not all about thinking that the world revolves around me."

"I didn't say anything about that – although that's true. Haha – ow!" He was cut off as Shinobu really did give him a smack on the head. "Jeez! You're the one who said that in the first place!" He complained, rubbing the offended part.

"I'm saying t-that we should start picking out the gifts now!" She exclaimed, still embarrassed beyond belief. "We'll be too busy the following weeks to even look properly for one!"

"What the heck are you getting all worked up for? Just get them some pots, pans, casseroles, or a rice cooker. Trust me, they're going to appreciate it." Taichi hissed out through his teeth, though his tone still carried out a hint of mirth as Shinobu gave him another stink-eye. "Really, Shinobu, if your looks could kill, I'd be dead by now." He added, still managing to sound amused despite of Shinobu practically giving him her infamous death glare.

"Be thankful that we're out in public or I really would have frozen you here on the spot!" She hissed as well, trying to keep her voice down, lest she risk drawing unwanted attention to them from humans. "Aren't you going to try and become a decent companion to me today? I asked your help because you're a lot closer to them!"

Taichi straightened up, chucking. "As close as someone like me to them, huh? Lady, what I'm suggesting is practicality. They're starting a new life together – and with that they need the basics of a house. Why not gift them with something they can use?" He said, a bit more seriously this time.

"At least suggest something we can carry there!" Shinobu was frustrated, wanting to give him another smack on the head.

"Unless you want me to suggest buying them a washing machine – woah, not this time, Wakamiya." He was laughing as he got out of the way when she attempted to punch him on the arm this time. "You are awfully touchy today aren't you?"

"And you are being awfully ridiculous!" Shinobu was near seething. "Did you happen to have another of your dreams? Or visions? You only act like this when you had those!"

That made him sober up, the easy grin spreading his lips being wiped off his face as if an artist found a mistake in his drawing and decided to erase it.

Shinobu noticed, of course, the sudden change of his behavior. "What? You really had one?"

Taichi opened his mouth to answer, when his phone suddenly rang. He fished the phone out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and a sudden grimace clouded his features. "Sorry, Shinobu. Gotta take this call."

Shinobu was frowning with his response earlier at her question, but she let him be. "Go ahead."

Taichi went a little ways from her and picked up the call. "Mashima speaking."

With her heightened hearing, she had no trouble hearing what was said, though she tried her best not to listen in out of respect for her friend.

His behavior changed – his shoulders lifted and tensed. "No rest for the wicked. Can you please tell them I'm on my off – "

She heard the slightly harried, panicked tone over the line. "Yes, sensei, unfortunately, Kirasaka-sensei called in sick today, and someone of your expertise will be needed along with Usui-sensei. The cases we've got – first victim has been hit by a motorbike, is quite well-known so her frame is quite small, and it looks like she's got more than a few broken ribs. The rider is currently unconscious, he has hit his skull and is bleeding heavily from what the team has seen, probably suffered from whiplash, and his shoulder is dislocated from the report. The ambulances are on their way now."

She heard him sigh. "Fine. I will be there. Give me ten minutes."

"Thank you very much, sensei!"

Shinobu could already guess what he had decided to do as he hurried over to her. "It's a work call. Sorry Shinobu – "

"Don't worry about me." Shinobu, to his surprise, didn't complain as what she usually does whenever he leaves her hanging in the middle of a simple day out. She gave him an unaffected look, as if to say, _what are you looking at me like that for? I'm pretty much used to it._ "I suppose I can just pick out the gift myself. Go. You need to be there, right?"

He was already striding away from her, not giving much more thought to her sudden change in behavior. "Yeah. I'll make it up to you, I swear!"

Shinobu sighed, gaze sad again as she stared at his retreating back.

"Saving those who had betrayed him before. How ironic."

* * *

Ten minutes later and he was already rushing inside Tokyo University's Medical Hospital.

"Where is the ambulance?" He threw almost in a monotone at one nurse who immediately went to his side and kept up with his pace as he looped his arm in through one of the arm holes in his navy blue scrubs over his white shirt (choosing to forgo the usual white med coat since he knew he will have to perform surgery,) and she gave him the rundown on what was happening and what they were expecting, him listening as best as he could as he buttoned his scrubs down to his stomach.

"Five minutes left until both ambulance arrives." She confirmed, and validated the info which was given to him over the phone earlier.

"I will take the hit victim." He said, spotting the other doctor who was also hurrying towards the ER. "Good to see you, Usui-sensei. Please do take the rider victim." He greeted politely as they reached the widely-opened ER doors at the same time.

The blond doctor who looked like he had just stepped off a movie shoot gave him an unusual gentle smile. "I heard you're supposed to be on your off today. Guess that went out the window again huh?" He asked with a hint of wry humor.

"You guess correctly." Taichi responded, sounding resigned. "And you're supposed to be on leave? How was Ayuzawa-san?"

Usui nodded, smiling easily. "Yep. Supposedly _on_ leave. But well, duty calls. Misaki understands that, and before you tease me, yes, I know that I'm lucky to have her."

They were both acutely aware of the reality of their lives, and despite of the huge, teasing grin on his lips, he decided to spare his co-doctor the roughhousing and they both shrugged instead.

Their attention was torn apart from each other as the sound of loud sirens reached their ears, two ambulances circling the road entering the hospital before stopping in front of the entrance. Taichi jogged forward as the rescuers from the first ambulance got out immediately from the front seats and rushed to the back to open the doors.

"Victim was given two liters of saline. There was still a lot of blood though." The rescuer mentioned as soon as it became apparent to him that the attending physician for this patient was Taichi.

"Understood." Taichi said gratefully, knowing that without their timely response, the victim may have died already. "I'll take her."

He moved forward and help to lower the stretcher containing the first victim.

Only to freeze in his tracks as the stretcher containing the unconscious woman was lowered down to his direction, and he got a clear view of her face for the first time. She was wearing what looked like a junihitoe, which was already soaked with her blood – some of it smeared across her face – and alongside her was a sobbing man who was probably a friend or a relative of hers and was close to hysterics. He couldn't focus on that now though, having felt as if all the breath had been knocked off his lungs.

He would never forget such a face. How could he anyway?

He felt as if time froze in that very moment as well. And not for the first time, he wondered whether the Gods really hated him for toying with his emotions like this.

 _Tsukiko?_

* * *

1 Junihitoe – twelve-layered robe/kimono mostly worn by women who had come from the upper class during the Heian era. We saw Chihaya and Kana-chan wearing them during the OVA.

2 Hojo Masako – eldest daughter of Hojo Tokimasa, a woman who rose to power and wielded astounding political intelligence when she married Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura period.

3 Lady Murasaki Shikibu – one of the most well-known Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting, who was born and raised in the Heian era, and had broken the tradition of excluding Heian women from learning Chinese when she showed a precocious aptitude for Chinese classics. She was best known for writing the Tale of Genji, and to have written poems which are a part of the karuta classic game.

* * *

 _ **Dun, dun, dun, dun. So there you have it. Before you kill me for leaving a cliffy, (and for the unexpected Taichi-Shinobu friendship/suspicious relationship,) please know that, again, I all love you for sticking with me all this time, okay? Thank you very much.**_

 _ **I am trying to research more in the medical field, so do prepare yourselves for a few medical terms popping up here and there. I'll try my best to explain them, at the end of each chapter.**_

 ** _Some of the other characters may or may_ not _appear on the later chapters, because that will depend on whether or not the story will need them. I have given you a clue as to who, or_ what, _Shinobu is. Hahaha. Well, more will of course, be revealed as the story goes on._**

 _ **So again, your thoughts on this? Review please! You know I love to know what you're thinking!**_

 _ **See you in next chap,**_

 _ **Michiko**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Yo, folks. So I am back with this. Yeah, I know, I'm late. It took me longer than usual to write this monster because, well, I am not a med student at all. I have to read and reread this for about a hundred times just to check, if I am missing something, and you**_ **wouldn't _believe how many revisions I made for this one. Yup, that's how crazy I am. My only request is that I'm writing based on the articles I've read, and half of that was purely instinct. The inspiration from the medical scene came from a different fic I have just read (and loved), and_** _ **I request for you to please understand that.**_

 _ **On a different note, I do have a question though: do you think I'm becoming a typecast with writing Chihayafuru fictions? A friend of mine pointed this out. I am also beginning to think that I can just really write for this thing, and I am starting to doubt my own abilities.**_

 _ **Anyway, I don't want to dump all my current negativity with you guys, so please go ahead and read. And once again, I seriously hope you'll like it!**_

* * *

 **II**

 _998, Heian-Jidai_

* * *

The water felt fresh against her skin, as she lathered herself with the river's water, glad beyond belief that she was able to be out again and refresh herself with such mundane things after so long. The water was to her liking – almost warm, since it was summer and the forest surrounding the waterfall was very much alive and in different colours, and she rejoiced in the very beautiful picture it made. It has been long since she was allowed to be out again. Her father can be quite over-protective when he wanted to be, especially since recent events in the capitol had the king's army out and scattered to it's neighbouring villages, giving the villagers quite a scare about it.

She could only care less. Her father, despite of being quite lenient with her and her education, would never allow her to handle politics, no matter if she wanted to.

And for this reason, she had decided to barter with her freedom to be out and about whenever and wherever she pleased.

She waded to the shallow part of the spring, comfortable in her nakedness as she was alone, and reached for the towel, along with her folded yukata she had placed on a dried log to start drying off, when she heard the sound of a twig snap – close to her position.

The sound immediately made her start in surprise and she grabbed a 4kunai she had kept hidden on the folds of her clothes, as she sank down back into the water, up to her neck in an attempt to cover herself. "Who dares to spy on me!?" She called out, more nervous than she was originally letting on – there was a slight quiver in her voice that only the ones who knew her well will be able to decipher.

She heard footsteps, which seemed to be too heavy for an animal, so she guessed it would be a human. A man, most probably, judging on the weight he was placing on his footsteps.

But she was not seeing anyone yet. This was causing her to be even more nervous. She didn't have her handmaids with her as she specifically requested for them to wait for her at the entrance of the waterfall, and she hadn't really brought any guards with her since she was just going to bath. Though how anyone managed to get past her handmaids is a wonder, because they were not only handmaids, they were also well capable of guarding her.

"I said who's there? Show yourself, I am not afraid of you!" She called out again, making sure to sink deeper into the water so that it will cover at least up to her neck. She was suddenly thankful of the water being deep enough for her.

The 'spy' cleared his/her throat all of a sudden. "I do not think it will be wise to show myself, milady. Especially not when you are in the middle of a bath." A male voice finally responded, deep, with a husky quality to it. For some reason, it gave her goose bumps, running up both her forearms, as she saw someone move from behind the trunk of a maple tree, three or five steps away from the shore. He leaned into the trunk of the tree with his back turned to her, indicating that he had no ill intentions toward her.

"There are many things I do not like. Being lied upon is first and foremost." She countered distrustfully, venom dripping from her voice. "Tell me, good sir, how you had managed to get in here. My handmaids are at the entrance of this area. You must have done something to them if you were able to get past them."

The man lifted his shoulders up and dropped them, in what appeared to her as a gesture of a shrug. "I do not know what you are talking about, milady."

"Do not lie to me." She hissed, finally standing up, forgetting her nudity in her anger. "I will have you hanged! What did you do to them?"

The man turned his face sideways that she sank back down again to the water in surprise, almost letting out a very unlady-like squeak. "I do not lie, milady. I know other ways of entering this area. If it must help you to calm down, your handmaids – they are still in the entrance." He tipped his head to the other direction, and she narrowed her eyes at his form. "Waiting for you to finish, if I must say."

"Then what are you doing here? How dare you spy on a maiden while she bathes?" She was getting slowly irritated at the interruption of one of her most precious alone time.

"I bear you no ill will; I do not spy on ladies bathing. I find no pleasure with it." He murmured matter-of-factly, still not facing her, back still against the tree trunk, as if it was everyday that he was talking to women who were bathing in a waterfall.

She wasn't sure whether she should be offended or relieved at his flat statement. "You keep on avoiding what I have been asking you. If it is not to do anything like I have mentioned earlier, then why are you here?"

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice, though when she watched him closely, she noticed that he didn't seem to be leaning on the tree just to hide from her – he appeared almost unsteady, as if he was using the tree trunk for support. "I am in need of the water, milady. I have heard that the water from this fall have healing qualities. That is all that I have come here for; I was not aware that you are in here."

Her eyes are still narrowed at him distrustfully. "The water you say?"

He dipped his head once in a gesture of a polite nod. "Please. Have mercy on one such as me."

And then he started to turn, but he froze when he felt, rather than saw, a kunai flying in a perfect straight line toward him, indicating that the thrower knew how to handle such weapons. He simply turned his head to the left side in order to avoid getting skewered right smack on the middle of his head – the weapon embedding itself on a tree trunk behind him instead.

"I did not give you permission to get some water!" She was forced to wade sideways, farther away from the riverbank in her haste to hide from him.

He clucked his tongue, almost as if he had caught her in a dreadful act. And he probably did. "A woman belonging to the upper class such as yourself knows how to use weapons? My, I wonder what the master of your house will have to say if he learns of this."

She sputtered angrily at his statement in surprise. Just a minute ago he was pleading for something to drink, and now he switches to the offense? "How dare you threaten a lady in such a manner!" She exclaimed indignantly, the water almost drowning her voice as she moved to the deeper part of the river, almost to the waterfall already.

"I am merely observing, milady." He responded, with a hint of a chuckle, which, she later would have to wonder, how he was able to continue speaking calmly with that much of a distance between the two of them, as the water was already starting to roar in her ears and she had to raise her own voice for him to even hear her. "Though I am sure you would not want such a news to reach your honourable father, would you?" He added, still chuckling almost to himself.

"Why you little scoundrel – yihhhhh!" She let out a squeak as she seemingly have stepped on a sharp rock which made her lose her balance and sink into the water.

The current from the water was strong, and she found herself having to flail her arms in panic as her head broke to the surface, only for her to accidentally inhale the water and her head went under again. She found herself desperate. She will NOT die by drowning. What a pathetic ending.

Even if she didn't know how to swim.

But alas, it was as if nature was punishing her for having to lie to her father about her secret training. Her left leg started to cramp, and she found herself starting to lose air from being under the water so long.

Her mind was doing the screaming for her, because she couldn't even break the surface to even do so. _HELP!_

Just then, she saw a figure swimming towards her. _It cannot be that man, can it? Oh no. It's him!_

She tried crawling under water, (if such a thing was impossible before, she had just made it possible _now_ ,) but even with her clouded vision, she saw him shake a finger at her, as if to tell her, _don't you dare._

Before she knew it, she felt two, strong arms encircle her around the waist and felt herself lean into a bare chest that she started kicking at him in reflex, even if he _was_ saving her life. He ignored her flailing about in his arms, focusing instead on staying them both upright, and with one arm around her waist, he kicked upwards into the surface.

"Oh!" She sputtered as she felt her face break the surface and she focused on not totally coughing her lungs out as she had inhaled _and_ swallowed quite a lot of water. "G-Get off of me!" She tried her hardest to push him away from her and disentangle herself from his embrace, but he ignored her protests, instead tightening his arms around her waist so as not to accidentally drop her back into the water.

"Stop!" He hissed at her ear, and she froze automatically, suddenly aware of how close they are with each other, and how she was currently in a state of full undress. She could feel her cheeks burning and heating up.

How embarrassing. Here she was, accusing some random stranger of spying on her earlier, only to have him end up saving her life. She turned her head sideways to look at him properly for the first time, only to have the words she was about to voice out die in her throat.

This man was… beautiful. Handsome. She never thought she would use such different descriptions in one sentence, but this was how she felt as she looked at him properly for the first time. His eyes… are… simply captivating. They were of a deep amber shade – if she hadn't drowned earlier, now she felt as if she would drown in pools of heated gold instead. High cheekbones, high-bridged nose, a strong jaw line, lips which would entice any woman to throw themselves into his arms to kiss him.

Which was, against all her embarrassment and absolute vehemence towards the thought, something which was going on in her mind right now, if she had to admit it.

She shook her head mentally to clear it as her thoughts continued to churn in her head. His features… were… otherworldly. He was too beautiful for a normal person. Too beautiful to even be a human being.

But despite of the instincts, she couldn't bring herself to be afraid of him.

He was gazing straight into her auburn eyes, eyes clear with admiration as he admired her in a better distance than earlier with more freedom. "Beautiful, are you not, milady?" He mumbled quietly, watching her cheeks flush.

They stared at each other for minutes.

He probably had lost control over his mind at that moment. Or maybe it was the way that her dark chestnut-brown hair shone in the sunlight. But she turned in his arms of her own volition, wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lowered his head to hers to press his lips against her inviting, parted ones.

It was a moment which either of them knew they would never regret.

* * *

 _2016, Tokyo University Medical Hospital_

* * *

Her scent hit him with the force of a meteor and Taichi forcibly snapped himself out of his trance. This is not the time to be remembering such things, dammit!

And not the time to be distracted by her sweet scent either.

The vision he had earlier… well, there was no doubt it was linked to this, and he knew that now as he recalled it. Funny, because it was linked to a woman he didn't know existed, but who looked disturbingly alike from someone who had a connection to him from the past.

Despite of the fact that he was still reeling from the reality that he felt as if he was being haunted by his past in the form of this patient, he had other, better things to do.

Like saving her life, for instance.

The trauma team assigned to assist him helped him wheel the gurney containing her inside the ER (emergency room) but almost all of them froze upon seeing her – and probably upon recognizing her. It took him about ten seconds before he noticed that none of them were moving, as evidenced by the shouting that her companion was already doing.

"Are we seeing an apparition!?" He snapped mercilessly at them, seeing their frozen forms. "Help her!"

They moved with murmured apologies, surprised at the tone of his voice which had effectively snapped them out of their stupor, this being the first time that he had practically raised his voice at any of them. He poured twice his strength into wheeling the gurney to the proper destination – down along what the medical staff almost jokingly, _almost_ , referred to as "the road" – which could either be the road to Heaven or Hell in short, – and which probably would have been a lot easier on him if he didn't have any help. But alas, he had eyes on him, eyes from humans who have dedicated themselves into saving other people's lives as well.

Which was probably the reason why he could not bring himself to hate them completely, even if they had all acted like mindless idiots earlier.

He was already assessing the damage he was seeing on her. There was blood forming on the lower part of her stomach, he was seeing some forming bruises on her neck and probably goodness-knows-where, and the right side of her head was bleeding, already soaking the sheets of the stretcher with an alarming rate. There are some other damages he was also seeing right now – her left foot seemed to be twisted in an odd angle, indicating a sprain or a break, her left arm which was exposed due to the sleeves of her junihitoe having fallen upwards to her shoulder when they were transferring her earlier are covered with lacerations and cuts, indicating that the patient was probably dragged along the pavement when the motorbike had hit her and had possibly ran her over as well, and did he need to mention that her spinal cord might have been affected as well, which they would be in trouble for if she couldn't feel her legs anymore?

Just based on his at-a-glance assessment, he knew this one was going to be a battle.

"Bay four. Is it ready?" He asked at one nurse who was helping him push forward.

She nodded frantically. "Yes, sensei."

He nodded in response as well, and left it to her to assist the patient's companion to the side, reminding him that he will have to wait outside as they closed the curtains around the bay first and they did their job.

As soon as they made it inside bay four, he checked to make sure that the basic equipments they will be needing are in place. He helped them transfer her carefully into the bed, then grabbed some alcohol from the desk at the side.

"I need x-ray and CT-scan. Chest and head. Blood type as well. Make it quick please!" He was hard-pressed into remembering to be polite to the trauma team assisting him, as he drew out a small penlight and started checking her eyes, which she automatically blinked in response to. That was good. At least he wouldn't be dealing with severe traumatic brain injury, which would mean that she would be in a coma. "Signs of moderate traumatic brain injury." He declared as he pocketed the pen light, observing the slight out of breath breathing pattern of the patient. "Shortness of breath indicating respiration difficulties."

One nurse took a seat at a small table to start recording everything and taking notes, two others were on standby to give out the supplies that Taichi will need at his direction, and a fourth got ready to start removing the patient's clothes. A pair of residents hovered at the background to give assistance or watch as needed.

One of the paramedics who had just joined them inside the ER moved forward to perform the task he had requested, only to recoil back, as if a king cobra had sprung from the patient's bed and was already staring at him dead in the eye.

"Holy – "

"Shit." One nurse finished for him when they finally managed to get near to the patient's bed. "Isn't this Ayase Chihaya? That famous model?"

Taichi resisted the urge to automatically yell at them – he was already trying to help loosen her junihitoe, starting from the knot forming the main 'bow' of the kimono. "I don't care who she is, this is not the time to ogle! Do it!" He snapped anyway after looking at the monitor showing her heart rate and blood pressure. She was still with them, thankfully, but her blood pressure was starting to lower. He would need scissors to cut the fabric if he wanted her to get out of this hospital alive.

While her blood was being drawn, he tried not to focus on her face too much as he started cutting the kimono off. The nurse who was loosening the kimono winced. "Why the hell was she wearing something like this anyway?"

"She's probably in the middle of a shoot or something." Another responded to her question. "Dang, do you think the sponsors who loaned her that will sue us or something? That kimono looked like we can sell it to pay an entire house or a car."

"They'd better not." Taichi hissed as he managed to get the kimono off of from her. One of the nurses in the team slipped inside the bay, closing the curtains again behind her.

"I got the wallet. Just confirmed everything. Ayase Chihaya. Age twenty nine. Although she doesn't look like she's already in her late twenties…"

Taichi ignored the information given. "Let me see the x-ray. I want an ultrasound on her heart and abdomen. There might be organs which were crushed from being hit by the damn motorbike." He ordered in a no-nonsense tone, making the team grin amongst themselves in spite of the situation. Taichi was well-known to be a monster bordering on being a dictator when it came to working with others, not because of the way he talks to them, but because they knew that his priority would always be the patient, and thus, would even throw his manners out the window in a matter of seconds if it meant saving a person's life.

Many would say that he owned the trauma department – he was quite the star doctor in their hospital for his feats in surgery despite of his age. For reasons unknown though, his social skills are considered somewhat… mediocre. While he was not completely aloof, there was a distance – a barrier, it seemed that he had pulled up between himself and other people instead, a wall that still separated him from others completely, which one could see if one was observant enough. Despite of this quite noticeable wall though, he was still recognized and respected throughout the hospital by patients and co-doctors alike, mostly because he really is quite the genius, even when he tries to downplay most of his achievements and ignores the praises.

And he wants it to stay _that_ way – having that comfort of a distance was actually quite useful and helpful with him having to avoid humans.

While a resident went to work on the patient's belly with the ultrasound wand, he started feeling along her chest cavity and observing her unconscious face. He lightly pressed on her left side, but there was no reaction from her. He switched sides and pressed along her right side, and her face contorted in pain.

"Hints of fractured 5thoracic cage, indication on…" He mentally apologized to her as he pressed more. "… Second and third 6costae verae. Prepare OR (operating room) five!" He commanded, already starting to dread his gut feeling. In situations like these, he wanted to hate being right. "From the way this looks like, we might also be dealing with a punctured lung and torn aorta! Where's that x-ray and ultrasound I have already asked for earlier? You," he pointed at one of the nurses on standby after finishing disrobing her, "prep the heart-lung bypass just in case. I wouldn't be taking any chances."

"Got it."

He was handed the x-ray as they prepped her for the CT. One glance on it made him wince and it had just confirmed what his preliminary exam had revealed earlier to him already. The second and third ribs were fractured alright, and yes, the third seemed to have been set on an odd angle, and it revealed an abnormal amount of air in the pleural space of her right lung, making him curse inwardly.

He was looking at a 7pneumothorax as well, which would certainly make everything more difficult and complicated for the patient.

The ultrasound of the heart came out relatively fine – she appeared to have been lucky in that particular aspect. He didn't want to take any chances though – not when she had fractured ribs too close to the heart. As for the head though…

He was then handed the CT results. "8Subdural Hematoma and concussion on the brain." He didn't like how the situation was forming. "Are we done with the ultrasound for the abdomen? I'm going to buy us some time with the lungs first." He needed to check if there were abdominal organs which were affected, because that really is how bad the accident was.

Taichi inserted a large-bore needle into the pleural space, after finding the third anterior intercostals space of the ribs of the patient, and after checking to make sure he was doing it well, he gave out the signal for them to begin the procedure. He started attaching syringe to the catheter he had prepped earlier and once the needle was safely situated, he then used the syringe to pull out the excess air as he pumped deeper.

Fortunately for her, it seemed to have worked. She was breathing easier now.

Taichi kept an eye on the monitors – her vital signs were improving, her breathing rate slowing to a more normal rate as well. He pulled out the needle (again carefully so as not to cause another wound in her chest and lungs,) and once the needle was out, he gave the syringe to a nurse for disposal.

"Abdominal ultrasound is done, sensei."

"Good. Let's see the abdominal."

He then focused on the abdominal ultrasound. It did show some good news, as he palpated the region. No major internal organs seemed to have been hit or anything, though she did have a huge cut on her lower abdomen.

"Okay her abdomen looks fine – for now. Let's move her upstairs."

Taichi helped wheel her gurney down the passage and into an elevator, snapping his surgical gloves in place. Once they managed to enter the OR, he turned to the nurse assisting him. "Tell me how much blood we have for the patient."

"We have seven litres of A+, sensei."

He nodded, looking at the CT scan he had on hand again. Hematoma had already formed at the base of her skull, which was what had probably resulted from her being dragged across the pavement. For now, this would be his biggest hurdle to overcome and her biggest obstacle alone, not taking into account the slight concussion he had already seen earlier.

But he was her doctor, so he would do whatever it takes to save her life. He would be damned if she would die on his hands.

Again.

He dressed himself with the clinical gown and snapped his surgical mask over his face, looking over at his team, eyes set grimly on them. He then gave a nod.

"Okay. Let's do this."

One resident moved forward to start wiping antiseptic at the base of her head. Once that was done, he moved forward, scalpel in hand.

Taichi apologized silently again to the unconscious patient as he shaved part of her hair from the bottom part where the hematoma had formed, so that he can make the incision properly. Thank the gods he had an additional training in skull base surgery and was a licensed neurosurgeon, otherwise they would be dealing with a grieving family in a few hours.

He lifted the skin and muscles off the bone and folded them back, then started to drill small burr holes along the area affected. He then inserted the 9craniotome into the burr holes to cut the outline of the bone flap to expose the dura, the brain's protective iron cage, and using surgical scissors, he managed to get to the fleshy part of the brain itself before seeing the formed blood which was the hematoma.

This is where everything had to be handled with thorough care.

Sweat started to appear on his forehead as he started to move a few tissues and nerves delicately aside after securing an operating microscope, and he sighed a breath he didn't know he was holding in when he was done. "Suction. Make it quick, please."

He kept one eye on the imaging computer he was using for any negative reactions to some of the nerves as they drained the blood, which, thankfully, there are none. "Suture." He requested, and started to close the dura and place the bone flap back where it belonged.

He was in the middle of placing the sutures over the incision he had made when one of the nurses pointed out an unusual reaction from the patient.

"Her pulse is weakening, sensei." She noted, trying her best to calm her voice down and avoid sounding panicky. "On top of that, she was sweating."

"That's normal." One of the residents told her, almost sounding as if he was scolding her. "Even sensei is probably drenched."

"She was sweating excessively!" She argued as she kept an eye on the monitor. "That is not supposed to happen even in surgery, especially now. She was starting to pulsate rapidly!"

Just then, the machine monitoring the patient's blood pressure spiked. Taichi's mind worked double-time as he processed the symptoms appearing in front of his eyes.

A second later, he grabbed the chest x-ray again. Then he winced as what he was suspicious of suddenly came true.

"We need to lower her blood pressure." He commanded, then gestured to one of the residents. "Get the bypass ready. We're dealing with an 10aortic dissection." He tried to keep his voice firm and calm.

They moved, all feeling overwhelmed. "Didn't the x-ray scan that earlier? How can we have an aortic dissection all of a sudden?"

"Calm down! Panicking now won't help any of us." Taichi reminded them in a hard tone as he grabbed another scalpel. "She just got hit by a motorbike; got dragged across the pavement, hit her head on it as well. Anything can happen. You shouldn't sound so surprised."

"Were you expecting something like this happening? Is that why you got me to prep this?" The nurse he had requested to get the bypass ready earlier asked.

He mentally groaned. "Sort of. Don't look at me like that, you're wasting time!" He started to give out more instructions when he noticed them almost staring at him with undisguised wonder and awe. "Explain yourselves to her immediate family if she doesn't make it!" He snapped at them harshly, though they all knew that it was unintentional.

"BP is still one-fifty over one-ten!" The resident called out, snapping them back into the harsh reality.

Taichi leaned over to the unconscious woman, making sure she hears him clearly.

"Don't even think about it." He told her gently, talking to her as if she was awake and was listening to him properly. "You're not dying on me – not on my watch. I'm trying to keep you alive, but I need your cooperation. Calm down, so that I can treat you properly. Think you can do that for me?"

He could have sworn that he saw her nod.

With the amount of time that was passing, Taichi knew there were only two possible outcomes – one was he wouldn't be able to perform an open-heart surgery on her on time and she dies – the other would be her dying even after surgery.

So he was going to have to make a decision here.

One was to start the surgery and hope that she will hold on long enough for him.

And the other…

Well, to save her using other means.

He sighed, and then nodded to himself. He will have to try the first option first. If that fails…

Then perhaps he can repay his debt to her using a different means and hope that it wouldn't kill him in the least.

"Ready?" He called out as he prepared himself to make another incision. The team nodded. "Good. I'm opening it."

* * *

She was half-unconscious.

Or maybe she was just dreaming?

Yup, definitely dreaming.

There were flashes. Voices. Everywhere.

She felt like she was floating in a space inside her head. Why was that so? She felt like she was just floating in darkness. As if she was completely disconnected to everything that was happening.

And then slowly, other things became clearer. The pain. Oh, the pain! Why was it so painful? What the heck happened to her? What's going on anyway?

She felt like she was drifting in and out of her consciousness. There were times that she understood what was happening, there were times she felt completely disconnected and blissfully unaware, like she was just there, floating in and out of the reality. They were panicking, those voices. She had been hearing them for a while now. As if something scary was happening around her; something which was also making her afraid, because their intensity was increasing each time she could hear them.

They were becoming too loud; too noisy that she was starting to be uncomfortable. _Can't I find someplace quiet?_ She was starting to retreat to wherever she can hide inside her mind, if that was even possible. _They're making my ears bleed._

And then suddenly the pain. A dull pain she didn't know where it began exactly, since nearly everywhere seemed to be painful all at once, but it was enough to rattle her completely when it became more pronounced as minutes went by.

 _I can't breathe. I can't breathe! Why!?_

In the midst of her unconsciousness, a light suddenly appeared in front of her, a glow which she didn't know where it came from, but was there nonetheless, focused on a feminine figure who stood with her back turned to her.

"Um… who are you?" She asked, wondering why she was dreaming of a woman she didn't appear to know in real life personally. Yes, she was aware that she was probably in a dream right now, quite detached from reality. "And uh… why are you appearing in my dream?"'

The woman began to turn – slowly at that. She was trying to glimpse her face sooner, as she angled her head to the right side to try to spot her face before she completely turned around, almost impatiently.

But once the woman had faced her, a gasp escaped her lips. She was beautiful! Heartbreakingly so. Almost as if she was a bishoujo. Which she probably is, she realized that now. She was wearing a junihitoe as well, eyes a deep dark colour of auburn, hair the same shade as hers – chestnut brown, but she knew was a lot different from hers because her hair shone, _glowed,_ more like it, under the light, looking as glossy as those of the hair models she had seen in the air-brushed pages of a famous fashion magazine.

 _Wait, wait, wait. Wait! Why… how on earth… isn't that… me?_

She was standing in front of her. But she felt like she was looking at a freakily beautiful version of herself, and she approached her cautiously, carefully. The beautiful lady (she could only call her that,) moved forward as well, seeming curious to talk with her as well and probably find out who this doppelganger who didn't do any justice to her beauty is.

She stopped when she was a few inches from her, and the lady stopped as well. She stared at her, her eyes wide.

This woman is… she really looked a lot like her. But this was impossible! She knew she isn't as beautiful like THAT. Despite of the fact that she is a model, she had never had such a gorgeous face.

She knew that well enough, and she was _damn_ thankful for it. Despite of what people may have come to think about her, like she was vain and a complete airhead and all that crap, she knew how to be thankful that she is a normal human being – that she had two sets of eyes, functioning ears, and that she didn't have some sort of concern over her bodily functions. She never cared being pretty _and_ famous anyway. She only needed to support herself and her family, and she was thankful she had a job – being a model, and being pretty famous for it – was just a bonus for her.

She opened her mouth to ask the beautiful lady something, but she also opened her mouth at the same time. And then they both stopped. They both have questioning looks on their faces, so she gestured for her to go first.

Which she also did.

Just then the apparition (she could probably call her that as well,) began to lean sideways, as if she had gotten tired all of a sudden and wanted to take rest. She was also feeling fatigued suddenly, probably because of the pain which had been muted, dulled, which she had almost forgotten earlier because of the surprise of seeing such heavenly beauty, and she felt ready to drop to her feet as well.

She had not noticed that she was also doing what the lady was doing – leaning sideways.

She thought the lady wouldn't stop, but she did stop leaning further, almost as if she had rested her head comfortably on something. She had also stopped, come to think of it, but then her eyes widened as another figured appeared.

Beside the lady.

It was a figure of a man, tall at that, and a brunette. His face was half-shrouded in shadows, so she couldn't see his entire face.

He had symmetrical features – a high-bridged nose, high cheekbones, a strong jaw line and full lips. She couldn't figure out how she knew so, but she knew he was breathtakingly handsome. She knew what the females in her time would have done if he existed in this era.

Okay, so how did she know that they _both_ existed in _another_ era?

She lifted her arm to touch her own shoulder to rub it since it was kind of painful, and the woman did as well, only to touch the man's hand which was resting on her right shoulder. He encircled her waist with his left arm, embracing her gently, _tenderly_ to himself. She felt her heart melt.

What a sweet gesture.

And then she gasped as she looked more closely at the hand on the woman's shoulder. He had… were those… _claws_?!

Holy shit!

She leaned forward this time, and the lady did so as well, as if she was stretching out of the man's embrace, but couldn't completely disentangle herself with the way she was enclosed tightly in his arms. She felt herself frozen not because of fear for herself, but fear for the lady, whose eyes had widened and was looking at her fearfully, as if she had just suddenly realized the danger she was in.

 _Get away from him!_

She couldn't yell out loud.

 _He's dangerous! Why… why are you with him?_

And then just as she was about to reach her, a hand stretched out past her, from _behind_ her. The hand grasped hers – she could feel how rough it is, and her heart almost stopped.

She heard him speak. Behind her.

"Don't." He whispered, voice soft against her ear, that despite of the initial shock and fear she still calmed down… somewhat. "Don't go yet. I am not giving up on you. Calm down, so I can help you heal."

Heal?

Chihaya turned to try to look at him, but he stopped her movement with a kiss on the top of her head, making her dizzy and light-headed, butterflies erupting in her stomach, that she was forced to look at the lady in front of her earlier just to see if she was still there.

To her surprise, she looked just as confused as she was. Chihaya couldn't figure out what was happening that she tried to reach forward again just to see if she can touch her, ignoring her male companion.

Only to touch a cold, flat surface in front of her.

The realization hit her like a bucket of ice cold water.

It _was_ a mirror.

Clawed fingers reached from behind her once more and grasped her hand again; drawing it back to himself, before raising it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "11Come back, hime. Come back to me. Not to the moon, but to my arms, where you belong." He pleaded silently, as if he was about to lose her at any moment now.

Chihaya could feel a scream building at the back of her throat, all of which were lost again when he laid another kiss on her temple this time.

Despite of her instincts sending out warning signals, she couldn't find it in herself to be afraid of him.

Why?

Why was she feeling that she had known him for a long time, and she could only feel misery eating at her away, like a part of her was torn away from her and she will never feel complete again? She knew that he wasn't ordinary. She wanted to be scared and run away from him, but she also wanted to stay with him so _badly_ that she could feel her heart being torn to pieces, the two emotions clashing so strongly against each other that it felt like she was being ripped apart in two as well.

Tears pricked her eyelids. She felt so miserable. So… heartbroken. She couldn't understand why, but she was _so_ hurt, for some reason. As if somehow, sometime, she had been forced to part from him, to never cross paths with him again.

But she didn't know him!

 _So… why?_ Her mind asked her, almost tauntingly, almost jeering at her.

Why? _I don't know!_

Why…

Did it feel like she had loved him for a long time?

* * *

4 kunai – a Japanese dagger, commonly used by ninjas to gouge holes in walls but can be a multi-functional weapon in the hands of a skilled martial artist.

5 thoracic cage – medical term for the humans' rib cage

6 costae verae – latin for _fixed rib_ , which refers to the first seven – or what they call vertebrosternal – rib pairs.

7 pneumothorax – collapse of lungs. This happens normally in an automotive accident, can be caused when the lung was punctured due to a broken or fractured rib, and air enters the pleural space (the area between your lungs and the chest wall). The air trapped in the pleural space prevents your lung from filling with air, which causes it to collapse. In this chapter, Taichi used a method called Needle Aspiration as his procedure to prevent the pneumothorax from widening and killing Chihaya.

8 Subdural Hematoma – most often results from a head injury if you hit it somewhere, of course, usually, in an accident. It is a collection of blood between the covering of the brain (the dura) and the surface of the brain itself, which becomes dangerous and is the number one killing affliction in accidents when not treated immediately.

9 Craniotome – a tool used for drilling burr holes (a small hole drilled into the skull and a tube is inserted through the hole) in craniotomy to remove hematomas.

10 Aortic dissection – happens when there is a tear in the wall of the major artery carrying blood out of the heart (aorta), which causes aortic rupture or decreased blood flow to organs, again which will result to death if not treated immediately.

11 He makes a reference to Kaguya-hime from the famous Japanese folktale 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter', also known as 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya'. I have fallen in love with this line one time when I watched another anime (and really, are you still wondering why? Kyaa!) and decided to borrow it here.

* * *

 _ **So there you have it.**_

 _ **Now, again I remind you that I am not a med student, and just an amateur writer who wanted to try to write medical scenes. I did a lot of research, read a lot of articles for this one. If there is any professional or student otherwise who was linked to the medical field, who just happened to read this thing and find a lot of errors, do let me know through PMs or something, but I am NOT accepting flames. Reason is stated even before the whole chapter. I don't want you going all Bellatrix Lestrange on me when I have already explained as to why I might have a miss.**_

 _ **Right. That one's down. Do let me know what you think. Your feedbacks do help, you know, encouraging the writer and everything to write better chapters.**_

 _ **Toodles!**_

 _ **Love and kisses,**_

 _ **Michiko**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Late update. I know! But forgive me. I am still drowning in work despite it being the holiday period already.**_

 _ **So just to warn you guys, there might be OOCness in this chapter. I don't want you whipping out forks to stab me just because you didn't like it. AU people. Just a reminder. Let us keep our minds open, is my request. Alright?**_

 _ **This chapter also offers back stories from some of the characters here, though some of them may not be in detail. (I think? Meh.) Hopefully, some of them answer your previous questions.**_

 _ **Anyway, thank you for those people who are taking time to leave reviews, (again Loyu-chan of course, a faithful reviewer, my sister! loved her latest chapter) and PaulagaTO. Although does anyone know how to translate Spanish? I… don't know the meaning of most of her reviews. A little help over here, please?**_

 _ **Right. I don't want to make the A/N longer than usual. Read on, and I hope you appreciate this chapter all the same.**_

* * *

 **III**

* * *

Her eyes snapped open.

And she was blinded.

Everything was too bright, for some unknown reason. She felt like everything – from what she could see so far – was dyed in white, which she didn't know if she should panic about or not. It was either she was dead, or she was just in a room where everything was blindingly bright because of being too white.

Which was probably a combination of both…?

The smell of antiseptic reached her nose.

Chihaya finally noticed the respiratory apparatus stuck in her nostrils, and she slightly winced as she breathed in. Her chest ached quite a bit as she tried to breathe in deeper, which she had yet to know the reason about.

Okay. So she was in a hospital…?

She could feel her cheeks wet, and she suddenly realized that she must have been crying. So she woke up crying? Yeah, that much was obvious as she felt her chest ache with something she knew had nothing to do with the physical thing. She tried to recall the reason why she was crying in the first place, but the memory was evading her.

The memories (of why she was in the hospital in the first place), however slow, came rushing back to her in a tidal wave of some sort. The scenes flashed in front of her eyes in a rapid and blurry motion, as if her mind was in a hurry to make her remember everything before she fell asleep again. She remembered bashing her head quite hard against the ground, the memory quite sharper than she expected, which is probably due to it being one of the most painful things she can remember, and she looked up, finally noticing the turban-like wrapping of the bandages over her head.

 _So does this mean that I don't have amnesia or memory loss or something? If that wasn't luck I don't know what is._

She glanced around, noting that she was in an isolated room of some sort. Her eyes travelled from every nook and cranny of her room, again taking note of the immaculately white walls, the large window on the right side of the room with the blinds closed over it, and then she noticed the figure asleep on the couch beneath the window ledge. She couldn't tell who it was at first so she tried raising herself a bit, and even just raising her head felt too huge a task for her as she felt her neck ache and complain at her.

She didn't even know if that was just due to the stiff neck or probably due to her lying still without moving for God-knows-how-long.

She spotted the silver hair under the coat draped over the figure and instantly recognized who the figure is. His masculine physique pronounced even when covered by the coat with his long legs folded as he slept on his side, facing her, she could see the rise and fall of his chest as he slept soundly, and she felt almost sorry for him. In spite of the apprehension she felt at seeing who the person was, she still couldn't deny that she appreciated the effort he exuded with trying to stay with her in her room and keep her company. She guessed that he was probably just as exhausted as she felt in spite of her feeling like she had been asleep for a long time – maybe even twice the normal exhaustion because she knew he must have been worried – and by worried, she meant a LOT.

And not only him, but probably the entire family has been dead worried about her as well.

Chihaya wanted so badly to call out and let him know she was awake, but she decided against it. She didn't want him to lose his sleep, which he was probably doing a lot since she was hospitalized.

She hated to think that she had caused this. If there was one thing Chihaya never liked doing, it was making others worry. She knew especially her parents – they were old enough to worry over her, and she hated thinking that she had caused panic over them. They shouldn't be experiencing such things with their age already, and yet she went ahead and got herself in an accident.

What a bloody idiot she was. How could she be so careless anyway?

Her auburn eyes travelled back to herself. She winced as she saw her left hand taped with the needle for the IV drip. She never had a fondness for needles, never liking them for one specific reason: they hurt. Ask her to train climbing a wall or rolling on the ground for a shoot and she goes for it all out, but ask her to be injected with a needle or something and she thaws easily like a snow in an early spring morning.

Yes, she was strange that way.

She could feel the frustration building up in her. For what, she didn't know exactly. Well aside with being injected with an IV fluid, there was one more thing she was frustrated at.

Her head ached as she forced herself to recall the reason why she was so frustrated – the reason why she had woken up crying in the first place.

Her eyes drooped as she forced herself to remember, and yet the thing keeping her so frustrated was elusive. _Forget not having memory loss,_ she thought irritatedly, _I might as well have such short-term memory._ Jesus.

What was it anyway?

 _Ugh! Why was I born with a short-term memory anyway?_

She could feel the IV drip working to put her to sleep again as her eyes drooped even more. She felt so drained and sleepy once more that she was fighting her body's instincts of falling asleep again as she forced her mind to recall why she woke up feeling unbelievably frustrated…

… And hurt.

 _Not yet… I don't want to sleep unless I remember what the heck that is._

She felt like she was dangling with the just one finger over the ledge which will send her to the oblivion waiting for her below when something flashed in her mind's eye.

It was a figure of a man, embracing her gently to him with her back against his chest. She could still feel the way she was enclosed tightly between two strong arms, junihitoe and all.

 _Come back hime. Come back to me. Not to the moon, but to my arms… where you belong._

Just then her finger slipped, and despite her efforts of staying awake, she fell back into the churning oblivion of unconsciousness below her.

* * *

The next time she woke up, she knew it was another day.

How she could tell: the room was a lot brighter in her eyes, which when she first woke up, was only bright due to all the white paint. And her guardian at the time was asleep. She was guessing that it was late that it was probably midnight at the time, or very early morning when she had woken up. Either way, something about the atmosphere in her room had changed, and she didn't mind one bit.

 _How long was I asleep for anyway?_

She looked around, finding no one at the moment. She wondered whether her guardian was still around, or maybe he had gone home to sleep properly and change clothes. If she was correct with her assumptions, then she was glad. It meant that he could get back his much-needed rest, which she knew was jeopardized when he had been here in the hospital.

She found that she could breathe a little easier now, finally noting that whatever respiratory apparatus stuck in her nostrils were now removed. She was glad for it – at least there isn't something weird stuck in her nostrils and whatever. Beautiful facial features twisted into a grimace as she noted that she was still stuck with an IV fluid. Ugh. How uncomfortable.

Just then she heard the door to her room open, (heard, because the room she was in was quite spacious, which she guessed now was a private one, and was designed not to frighten patients and guardians alike whenever nurses have to check in from time to time) and close. A second later, she caught a flash of silver hair before he turned the corner leading to her bed.

His gaze immediately flashed to her, and dark brown eyes widened at the sight of her awake, before immediately warming to concern, though he immediately caught himself and masked it under an almost expressionless face. She almost laughed. He really doesn't like showing his emotions; though to her she can still see the worry and concern clouding his eyes.

"Well. My Sleeping Beauty is finally awake. How was your sleep, Lady Aurora?" He asked, tone sounding sarcastic, though she knew better than to believe the façade that he was putting up in front of her.

Despite feeling apprehensive with his appearance, she couldn't help but drink in his features. Silver hair, dark brown eyes, tall, slightly muscular physique – she noted with satisfaction that he looked refreshed and had managed to change clothes already – wearing his black shirt and jeans with all the ease of a runway model. He was quite handsome, if he just decides to stop being so sarcastic.

He raised an eyebrow at her lack of reaction. "Are you... Do you remember me? Do you still know who I am?" He looked cautious all of a sudden, not being able to fully conceal his growing worry with his indifferent behaviour.

Chihaya then graced him with such a beautiful smile that his breath caught unconsciously and he had to clear his throat, heart beating twice as faster than usual which he refused to acknowledge. "Akito-senpai. You shouldn't have made so much effort in keeping me company here." She said, almost affectionately as his expression turned stern in less than a minute.

"Senpai?" He almost snarled, that she flinched in surprise, though his expression softened almost immediately with relief that she didn't appear to have lost her memories. "You are being awfully cold to me, Chihaya, considering the fact that you have tortured me these past few days." He responded mischievously, in a tone clearly trying to make her feel guilty as he stepped forward more, eyes still fixed unrelentingly on her face.

Chihaya flushed prettily that it took almost all his willpower not to bend over and steal her lips for just a few minutes. "I'm sorry, Sudo-senpai, I didn't mean to – "

She was cut off as her vision disappeared and was covered by a shirt-clad chest as he bent over and wrapped his arms around her carefully, that in spite of herself she felt tears form in her eyes. "Don't. Do. That. Again. Chihaya. Please," despite of all his qualms of showing his emotions and how utterly wrecked he was inside, he couldn't help himself from just holding her in his arms. "You just... scared the shit out of me."

Chihaya gave in. She didn't want to give him a false impression, but she knew she needed to comfort him – as well as herself. "Sen-"

"Akito. I am no longer your senior for Christ's sake." He cut her off in a stern tone, that she was forced to smile.

"I am… so sorry Akito." Chihaya whispered, wrapping an arm around him as well, because she couldn't resist the warmth that he offered. "Were you… overly worried?"

Sudo Akito's supposed and initial, special scathing response was 'why the hell should I worry about you, you airheaded girl?' but he couldn't bring himself to say it, not when she had just woken up. He sighed a frustrated breath out into her hair. "Yes. Are you expecting me to be dancing here when you were confined and was unconscious for seventy two hours?" Forget the apathetic tone, he still managed to let her taste his sarcasm.

Chihaya had to laugh, though it was shaky and watery, indicating her tears. No matter how much of a supposed sadist and sarcastic man he was, she knew that he had worried over her as well, evidenced by the fact that his arms around her were tight, though she had to ignore the feeling that it wasn't right, for some reason. Sudo Akito had this unshakable façade of being apathetic and a sadist – supposedly a lethal combination of behaviour and attitude for a human to have – but she already knew how he cared for her, deep down that insane mask.

He had his moments.

"Now that I think about it, should I punish you for scaring the hell out of me?" His voice lowered dangerously, almost teasing, lips brushing against the shell of her ear that she shivered, almost forgetting the fact that she was being embraced by a quite attractive and dare she say it – seductive man when he wanted to be – and despite of misgivings, she trusted him enough not to actually push through with his teasing.

She looked up and saw him staring hard at her, chocolate brown pools trained on her unrelentingly, making blood rush into her cheeks and cover it with a rosy blush.

She saw his eyes lower to her red cheeks.

She internally smacked herself. _Idiot! Why were you blushing? Are you some teenager experiencing her first kiss? Do you like him after all? Stop blushing!_

Akito groaned, leaning a bit away from her further. "Did I tell you how you drive me crazy whenever you do that?" He was exasperated, that much was clear as his eyes never moved away from her rosy cheeks.

"Mou," Chihaya started, placing a hand over his chest to push him away a bit further slightly, ignoring how her palms tingled when she felt the sculpted pectorals beneath the fabric of his shirt. Kami, how did her feelings end up like this? She wasn't _this_ aware of male specimens before.

Specimen. Hahaha. That made him sound like he was something to be subjected under the study of a microscope.

But seriously how did she end up being more aware like this? Was it because she was subconsciously remembering the touch of a man who she had seen in a dream?

Her head ached. Okay, bad idea. _One thing at a time to think over, Chihaya._

Thankfully, her thinking he was a specimen distracted her enough to focus again on the situation at hand.

"Mou," she tried again as she gave him a mock-glare. "I let you hug me and you immediately want to tease me? How ungentle-manly." She scolded him lightly, to which Akito's eyes narrowed at her a bit, almost half-exasperated at her for her lack of guard around him.

"Excuse me, I do not tease. That is how I feel whenever I look at you." He straightened up from leaning over her, before he did something he will regret and just push her away from him even more. "And you simply let down your guard. You should be more careful, you know."

Chihaya just glared at him. "Senpai." She ignored the way he had rolled his eyes at the honorific, "I don't think you're the kind of man who will take advantage of a woman."

She nearly jumped as, quick as lightning, Akito leaned over her again, nose almost brushing against hers, "Don't," he began, eyes boring into her auburn ones, alight with a fire and… was that… hunger? "just take me lightly, Ayase Chihaya. I'm still a man. Should I remind you of that simple fact?" He let out in a growl-like tone, the sound reminding her of a wolf's warning howl during the nights of a full moon.

Somehow, the description was accurate. He almost looked like a predator who had caught sight of a wounded prey.

Chihaya, despite initially feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, calmed down when she realized that he was still looking out for her, albeit in a frustrated and sarcastic way, and smiled at him, lifting a hand and stroking his cheek, before pinching it mercilessly that he yelped out an 'ow!' and she laughed. "I know. I'm not a kid anymore, you know. You should trust me to look out for myself."

He tugged her hand away from his cheek and despite feeling incredibly mushy, brought it to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on the back of it. "Let you look out for yourself? I don't think I can do that again. Look at what happened to you when I wasn't looking."

Chihaya mentally groaned as he lowered her hand and placed it back on her lap, and he saw her hand curl into a tight fist. Right. She just went and got herself in an accident and confined in a damn hospital. Everyone she loved and cared for must have been out of their minds with worry. "I-I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to – "

He cut her off with a shake of his head, taking pity on her looking so guilty as she bit her lower lip. "It's not your fault, Chihaya. And anyway…" He averted his gaze from her a bit as he tried to work up the right words to say, "I don't mind worrying about you. Gives me something else to do aside from bullying and annoying people." He said, almost cheekily that in spite of herself Chihaya had to laugh, but she had to stop abruptly as she winced and held her right chest that Akito had to bend over and check on her worriedly. "Are you feeling hurt anywhere? Geez, I need to call the nurses to check on you now that you've woken up."

Chihaya was still wincing as she patted his hand which was hovering over her worriedly, unsure as to where he should actually touch her. "Akito… you really should change your hobby of bullying people. It isn't nice."

He gave her a stern glare. "Was that something that you need to worry about and scold me for now? I need to call some of the nurses here to check on you now that you're awake. You just had surgeries you know." He glanced around and spotted the button he can use to call the nurses. "I should also call your parents and sister."

She grabbed his hand which was fishing for his phone inside his jeans, blushing when she almost ended up letting her hand land on the wrong place that Akito had to immediately grab her hand to help steady her, resisting the urge to smile at her almost _horrifying_ mistake. "No don't call them. They will just be panicked – "

He sighed and patted her hand clutching his. "Relax. I'll just call them to let them know you were already awake."

Chihaya still shook her head. "But not when the nurses were coming to check up on me. That will just make them more worried when they hear about what has really happened to me."

He took one look at her troubled face and he sat down beside her, carefully, on her bed. "Baka. Of course they know what has happened to you – they were here until yesterday with Asakusa, but I volunteered to be the one to stay here so that they can go home and rest properly."

"Nobu-chan too? Oh my," Chihaya started slapping her hand on her forehead that he growled and immediately grabbed her hand in his haste to stop her from hurting herself even more. "What did I do? I've made everyone panic!"

"Stop!" Akito was glaring at her hard now. "Do you want to re-open your stitches? Don't be such an idiot!"

THAT made her stop. "Stitches?" And then she looked up, seeing her head and only just noticing the turban-like wrapping around her which she had forgotten about. "Oh."

He face-palmed. "Chihaya, you've had surgery on your heart, and also on your head. From what the nurses had told us, you've had hematoma, pneumothorax and aortic dissection. You almost died," he was still glaring at her mercilessly, "but you had a very good doctor from what they tell me. He literally brought you back from the brink of death."

Her head swam with the medical terms. "Hematoma? Aortic – what?"

"Subdural hematoma from what they've told me. That happened when you hit your head. Some blood has formed in there that would have killed you if he wasn't able to operate on you on time. Pneumothorax is a collapsed lung. Aortic dissection is from the heart. That's as far as I can explain to you – I should leave it to the doc to explain everything in detail." Akito ran a hand through his silver hair in exasperation with her antics and returned to looking at her, though his expression had softened when he saw her looking down on her hands. "You nearly _left_ us, Chihaya. Everyone would have panicked because of that. You got into an accident. That wasn't your fault."

She nodded, almost unwillingly. "I have made you – everyone – worried. A lot."

He nodded as well, placing an index finger on her chin to make her look at him. "Yes, I wouldn't deny that. But that's _only_ natural, you idiot. We all care about you." He gave her a small, genuine smile, which left her almost breathless because Sudo Akito do _not_ just smile at anyone. He was too proud and too much of a sadist to even do so in the first place. "Stop beating yourself over it. It doesn't help you or anyone of us. If you really wanted to make it up to us, then do your best to recover faster. That's the best way for you to do."

Chihaya smiled at him, albeit a small one, looking at him with gratefulness even as she noted the darkening circles under his eyes. "You really are smart to have remembered all those medical stuff. I couldn't even do that." She fingered the dark circles under those dark-chocolate brown eyes gently, looking at them worriedly. "I have made you lose your sleep. I'm sorry."

He shook his head at her disapprovingly. "I told you this is nothing." He raised an eyebrow at her as he ruffled his hair. "At least I get to escape from the perpetual hell they call 'office'. Nice to have the environment change from time to time, you know."

Chihaya stared at him, and then nodded, patting his hand. "Thank you." She was eternally grateful to him for having taken the burden off of her parents' shoulders. She knew that _he_ knew how she hated making her parents worry, and she knew he had sent them home with the promise that he will be the one to look after her instead so that they can rest properly.

She wouldn't be surprised. Sudo Akito knew her and somewhat… understood how her strange and weird mind worked, despite of the rocky start of their friendship.

They had known each other for years. Chihaya was a second year student from Mizusawa High School and Sudo was a third year from Hokuo Academy. They met through one of Chihaya's classmates, who had invited her to the cultural festival which Hokuo was holding at the time. Sudo's class had opened a butler café (instead of the usual maid café), in which he was 'asked' to participate as one of the butlers who will serve customers.

Needless to say, it first became apparent that it had been a bad choice to have Sudo Akito as a butler, (read: forced and threatened, _again_ ), because what he had mostly done in the first few hours of their operation was to scare their customers off – frighteningly – might they add, with his sarcastic and sadistic aura. It was either the customer asks him for their bestseller and he responds sarcastically, or he turns his sadistic tendencies on them and scares them off with a few comments regarding their orders or how inappropriate their behaviour towards a butler is.

But when Chihaya came in, all those comments and remarks seemed to have just bounced off of a thick wall and back to his smart mouth, because nothing happened. Chihaya was the first woman, and customer at the time that is, to not even show an ounce of being affected – she had bickered with him and thrown his comments and flustering remarks back at him, and she did all this with a smile, as if she was used to dealing with people like him.

" _You don't scare me, Sudo-san. You're just like a kid who was denied his favourite toy last Christmas."_

" _Why you woman - !"_

Ironically, they became friends, after Chihaya had thrown a comment back at his face which had caught him off-guard, not expecting such a thing to come from her, much less from a woman who he had seen, who he had observed and was right on the mark – to be a little of an airhead and too innocent; too naïve – for her own good.

" _You pretend to be someone you're not. You kept on acting like that because you, unconsciously or subconsciously, is not used to the idea of accepting friends. Don't do that. It's a waste of energy."_

In spite of the fact that it had made him uncomfortable and downright annoyed that she was able to hit him right where it hurts – which was a goddamn talent of his – he had accepted that he had lost to her. Nothing he said would make any difference, since he knew, deep down, that it was true, and he found that this was the one person he wouldn't want to scratch, to intentionally hurt that is, with his cynical attitude towards life.

And it hadn't taken too long for him to fall for her.

Yes, it was a moment truly unfathomable and unbelievable for him. He had despaired _over_ it. Mainly because he didn't know where his feelings will take him, knowing he was in love with a girl who probably wouldn't see him as more than a good friend, a senior even.

But he couldn't stay away from her. If there was one thing that frustrated him and endeared Chihaya to him at the same time, it was her apparent magnetism to people around her. There was something about her which glued people to her, no matter if she wanted them to, intentionally or unintentionally. Her apparent innocence, coupled with her irresistible charms, makes her an easy victim to people around her who may have ill intentions towards her. It was for this reason that he knew he was a goner when he decided to accept the fact that he may have to use his sarcasm as a way to knock some more sense into her and be more cautious of people she should trust, and to stay at her side as someone who can look after her.

He was not going to focus on the fact that he was heartbroken around her. Akito was not an idiot; he knew one day his feelings might pass. But as he had told Chihaya, their friendship was much more important to him than his romantic feelings toward her. If the time came that he had finally managed to lose the romantic side of his emotions towards her – then he can still remain as a friend and continue to look out for her – something he had already sworn to himself even before he had fallen for her.

It had been a hellish decision to make. Sudo Akito was proud and was still a man who valued his ego and pride more than anything else. The natural way of dealing with his situation was for him to leave her alone to her devices and avoid her as much as he could – probably to transfer his residence to North Pole or something just so he could make sure that he wouldn't see her again –

\- But that was the coward's way out.

And Sudo Akito may be many things, a LOT of irritating, cunningly sarcastic and hell to other people _things_ , but NEVER a coward. He does not intentionally annoy people out for nothing.

Ayase Chihaya had turned his world upside down with a three-hundred and sixty full rotation almost single-handedly and with cruel ease that he had to accept the fact that he had already lost out to the world when he had met her; when he had even allowed her in his life. It might have been a punishment for him bullying and irritating the hell out of people. And yet…

Despite of the agony of making such a decision (he had lost countless nights of sleep for having to decide on such a thing that he wanted to smack himself on the head – why the hell had he fallen for such a girl in the first place!?) he was, strangely, at peace. Thus he knew that he had made the right decision, despite of the fact that he was still hurting somewhat inside.

Of course, Chihaya had not wanted to let him be a friend to her in the first place after everything, after having to reject him, knowing and being fully aware that he was still human and has his own limits and she understood that he may have to give up their friendship- something she had to accept with the painful reality they were in; but he had sarcastically reminded her that he IS Sudo Akito, and that he wasn't pathetically weak enough to be crushed under the weight of a heart break. He had told her that he valued their friendship more above anything else and he isn't willing to throw that away just because of his feelings which she couldn't return romantically. He will still love her, he reminded her that, but he wanted her to understand that above his feelings and anything else, he is her friend. She had to understand that he will be perfectly content to remain by her side as a still slightly sadistic, annoying and sarcastic friend.

Akito knew of her misgvings, but she agreed to it in the end. Chihaya was a kind woman – she could never stand it when someone suffers even more pain due to her and her apparent ignorance of other people.

He was thankful for that kind heart, knowing it was one of the reasons why he had fallen for her, and had been the main reason why he had to stand guard at her side to protect her from potential abuse due to her having it.

"Are you going to call them now?" She pouted, making a face so adorably cute that he literally had to grit his teeth in order to force himself not to pounce on her and have his way with her.

His gaze turned stern at her again. "I should have done so the minute you woke up. I was too busy being relieved and being able to talk to you normally that it had already slipped my mind." He then reached past her to press the button on situated at the right side of her bed. "There. Let's just wait for them to arrive."

Chihaya nodded, having no choice but to allow him to do so. "Alright. Have you eaten already?"

He nodded. "At the cafeteria – God forbid the food in there – earlier." He looked around the room and spotted the fruits basket at her tableside. "What about you anyway? Do you want anything? You haven't eaten for days. I think an apple will be good for you in the meantime. Your mother brought it for you."

She smiled, appreciating how much effort he was expending just to look after her. "Okay. Peel off some for me will you?"

Akito rolled his eyes, standing up from her side in order to get one of the tasty-looking apples on the other side of the room. "Just sit there and relax. It's not like I'm going to allow you to touch a knife, much less lift a finger."

Chihaya laughed as he did his best to hide another genuine smile. How overprotective of him.

* * *

Wakamiya Shinobu is _very_ concerned.

Now, she knew what people and non-people – humans and non-humans – alike, thought of her. She was one big block of ice. She doesn't show emotions as easily as breathing in and out. One will have to be brave to even try to get to know her, because she was too scary for people to even try to approach her. There might be some idiotic humans who might overstep their boundaries – mainly men, that is – who would try to even act familiar around her, but they were shut down immediately before they even realize that they should _never_ approach her, for the sake of their humanity.

Now though, she had good reason to be concerned and worried.

Mashima Taichi was unconscious for a full forty two hours now.

He had almost scared the living daylights out of her when she had found him collapsed on the floor of his living room, probably not even having the energy he needed to even reach his couch. She was surprised at having received what looked like a miss call from him the day before yesterday. Thinking he had just dialled her number just for the heck of it, (Taichi had the habit of pressing her personal number and miss calling just to mess with her _and_ enjoyed annoying her just because of it,) she didn't think anything of it at the time. But when she didn't hear anything from him and he hadn't replied to a message she had sent regarding their duties as part of the entourage for the wedding that their friends were holding, she grew increasingly concerned. Taichi, however he liked annoying the hell out of her with his miss calls, would still respond to her message no matter how late or how busy he was doing his rounds with his hordes of fans – er, patients – and would let her know that he had received it and ask her what her plans are to accomplish the duties assigned to them.

So she had decided to check on him – first by calling his phone. When he hadn't picked up for the tenth time she had called him (all timed at different hours,) she decided to call the hospital, knowing that at least someone will be able to tell her if he was in a surgery or something, When she was told that he was out and had finally taken his day off, she was already worried, because again, he wasn't responding to any of their means to reach him.

She then decided to pay him a visit, knowing that Taichi preferred to have company from time to time and never minded her appearing all of a sudden at his home without notice. He even encouraged her to do so, albeit with all the complaints that he was going to have to fill his fridge with food because he was well aware of her appetite and her demands with food, but never minded cooking for her in the first place.

Again she tried letting him know through another SMS that she would be coming over to visit him, but he never sent a reply. So she went in his unit without any qualms, knowing what his pass code is after he had told her about it to stop the security team of his building from calling him up whenever she came in to visit him.

Only to find him passed out cold and completely unconscious on the floor leading to his living room.

Shinobu tried analyzing the situation. She had to move him to one of the spacious couches in his living room – and thank goodness she had trained with aikido that she had managed to strengthen her arms and lift this man with his monster height – and tried cooking him some soup (which she was grateful for being decent in, remembering all the times Taichi had used to tease her mercilessly due to her inability to cook), because when she had taken his body temperature, he was having a fever at forty five degrees Celsius – which would have any human already dead had he been just that – a normal human.

He was not supposed to get sick. For as long as she had known him, he had never gotten ill. This could be attributed to the fact that they were not a part of the human species, but if he was _this_ sick, she knew that it should be a cause of worry. What kind of an illness keeps a being like him unconscious for forty two hours straight and unable to move, even a little?

She had watched him breathe uneasily as the hours passed, turning well into another day and into the night. She would wipe off his forehead and would soak the towel she was using back into the basin of the water she had prepared every two hours or so, and would try to feed him with the soup, not knowing what else she should do to help make him feel better, knowing she was indebted to him in so many ways (though she would rather die than admit it) and feeling utterly useless that she couldn't even do anything for him to gain consciousness once more.

Shinobu would try to while the hours away by getting up and finding a book to read from his vast collection in his own personal library, which was also his workplace at home. His collection of books was so extensive it would put any National Library to shame had they known its existence. She shouldn't be so surprised – having been alive for so long like him was bound to help him accumulate such rare and priceless books with genres ranging from historical to academic to novels to fairy tales – at least, the original plot of those fairy tales to begin with, with the original manuscripts the authors had once made – which would give museums and antique dealers a headache and a heart attack if they were even aware that such things are still in existence and is still well-taken care off.

"Tsukiko…"

She heard him call out that name once more. Shinobu turned to look at him, abandoning the book she was reading to see if he was finally awake. But alas, he still had his eyes closed.

Tsukiko. For the last day he had called out that name restlessly, his handsome facial features twisting in an untold history of pain and regret that he was probably still living with to this day and had been carrying such a burden on his shoulders ever since… eons ago, that she felt her heart twist in sympathy and sorrow for the unconscious man beside her, understanding and sharing the same pain with him.

Shinobu was well aware of who Tsukiko was and what she was to the brunette in the past. Taichi had told her who the woman was after they had grudgingly, at first, accepted each other as comrades, as friends. He said it was because he didn't want her to be in for a rude awakening if ever he finally decides to sell the jade ring he has kept for a long time (which she had, admittedly, been curious as to why he has such an ancient gem with him in the first place,) despite of it's value to him. He had told her that he wanted her to understand that he trusts her as a friend, something which she never had the whole time she had been alive before meeting him.

Unbeknownst to him, Shinobu was thankful for that little gesture of sharing his past with her. Despite of annoying each other to the very core of their being considered as their favourite pastime, telling each other their life story was akin to giving a sword to a stranger and trusting them not to kill them with it. The trust they had placed in each other spoke volumes of the companionship which they would never admit was important to the both of them.

She leaned over, gripped the towel from his forehead and started wiping his face with it, removing the sweat which had clung on his temple and on the bridge of his nose. Whenever she does this, a sad smile would appear on her lips, her mind going back to the years they had travelled the world together after meeting each other when she was being chased by hunters, which had been due to her freezing one of their comrades to death when he attempted to abuse a young woman under the influence of sake. She had been badly wounded at the time already and was about to lose consciousness, already unable to move as she collapsed on the hard, uneven ground, on which the snow from the last days of winter has just thawed. She could feel the cold seep in to her yukata back then, even though it never used to bother her before – a sign that she was already weakening.

" _Don't you dare fall asleep woman."_ She remembered a male voice saying above her, vaguely feeling that she was being lifted off the ground as easily as if she weighed a hundred and less pounds. _"You have done well evading them just to die like this disgracefully. Keep your eyes open for me."_

She had sprang from his arms with her final strength and wrapped her hands around his neck, attempting to choke him, thinking he was an another hunter, but he managed to tear her hands away from his neck on time, nearly dropping her that he snarled at her warningly and she automatically froze, seeing for the first time his fangs which protruded from his lips.

" _On your guard woman! I am not someone you can just kill like that!"_ He snarled at her near-unconscious form. _"I am trying to save your life. It would be a common courtesy for you to return the favour!"_

Shinobu was so surprised that she remained frozen as he looked at her, trying to assess whether she would try to kill him again. When she just continued staring at him disbelievingly, he then flashed to a forest all of a sudden, still carrying her in his arms that she felt the wind from the speed of his travel – was it teleportation? – and she saw the smoke from their arrival in the forest clear after a minute.

" _Thank you for not attempting to kill me again. Drink some of the water if you want to continue living."_ He encouraged her almost sounding sarcastic as he placed her down to the edge of the river from the water fall that she had heard was famous for its healing properties.

She was still distrustful of him, not understanding why he was attempting to help her. _"Why are you helping me? It isn't exactly your obligation to bring me to this so-called 'fall of spring'."_

He had scoffed. _"Just drink and rest up. We will talk when you are much better. And no second attempt at killing please. I am exhausted."_

It was almost laughable when she recalled the way he had ordered her around, as if he was superior to them all.

Which he was, come to think of it now.

Shinobu soaked the towel onto the warm water on his bedside and twisted it before squeezing it thoroughly so as to remove all the excess water. She then placed it back on his forehead, noting his facial features.

Taichi had remained as young and handsome as he was when they had first met eons ago, as untouched by time as she was. It was a price they had to pay for just existing, even, to just be alive for a hundred or so years. Many people, humans of course, to be exact, thought it would be nice to be an immortal or something, to live for an eternity. What they didn't know was the true curse of having to bear immortality.

Never having friends because they will die in the end and leave them alone was one.

Having to hide their identities as humans just so they don't upset the balance which the universe holds over humans and this world – because with their kind of thinking, they might have them sent to a mental institution sooner than they could even say 'we are innocent beings.'

And…

Never having in-depth relationships with someone because aside from the fact that them existing in the first place was deemed impossible, there was also the fear that they would _never_ understand what they were.

Humans can be resilient and disgustingly fickle-minded. Taichi was an existing proof of their cowardice and their refusal to admit that such beings can co-exist along with them, humans. Attempting to burn him alive because he was not human and they felt that he should be blamed for all the misfortunes they had in life just because he existed? As time passed by humans had become superficial, arrogant creatures, thinking that they were the only ones who had been allowed to exist in this planet which they couldn't even understand fully and the way it works thoroughly. They couldn't even explain the mystery of the so-called 'Bermuda Triangle' but the way they acted – it's as if they were the only ones who had been given permission to exist in this world.

"Wake up, you idiot. Tsukiko… is not here." Shinobu reminded him in a sad tone, shaking her head mentally to prevent her thoughts to be permeated negatively. She patted his arm then stood up; wanting to open the curtains to allow the moonlight to permeate in the living room, noting that it was a full moon tonight as she slid the curtains open.

 _Huh? A full moon? I forgot… Is this why he was having such a hard time getting better or something?_

Just then she felt the hair in her arms stand on end, and she felt her power emanate from her in waves, feeling that she was on the verge of revealing her true form already. Shinobu struggled to regain control on the sudden influx of her power, trying to retain the power suddenly threatening to escape her hold and control.

 _What the hell!?_

The moonlight permeating the room suddenly grew brighter that it almost hurt to look at, and the wide windows blew open, letting the fresh night air in and despite of the chill accompanying it, Shinobu welcomed it still.

A figure descended from the skies, a masculine form using the moonlight almost like a set of steps as he descended from a palanquin being held up in the air by two oxens with all the grace of a royalty – which he probably is. Shinobu had to hold in a gasp as she recognized just who was doing it, his raven hair whipping back with the breeze that accompanied his arrival as he rolled the sleeves back of his royal robes, exposing his hands – both of which with an insignia of a full moon.

As the room grew back to its normal state, his sapphire blue eyes turned to gaze at her, acknowledging her presence with a nod and a small smile, and then lowering his gaze to the supposed unconscious form lying on the couch, his gaze almost concerned.

Shinobu opened her mouth, but another voice beat her into it.

"Tsukiyomi no Mikoto." Shinobu almost gave herself a whiplash as she turned to see Taichi sitting up almost weakly, supporting himself with his grip on the backrest of his couch, still breathing heavily and looking as white as a sheet, but no less than bright and alert. He was looking at the newcomer with a guarded and calculating gaze, in a way which was almost… distrustful. "Well. To what do I owe the pleasure of having the God of the Moon appearing in my humble home?"

The being called Tsukiyomi cleared his throat. "I see you are as distrustful as usual." He acknowledged the other man's statement with an air of indifference, as if he was used to the man treating him as such. "No one calls me Tsukiyomi nowadays though." He nodded at Shinobu once again. "And I see you are still in the company of 12Yuki-onna."

Shinobu acknowledged his statement with her revealing her true form – a woman wearing an all-white kimono, hair all silver and reaching her waist, eyes glowing an ice blue.

"Pray tell what should we call you then?" Taichi asked, still breathing heavily but managing to smile at the man all the same, albeit with more exhaustion and less welcome than he would care to admit.

The God of the Moon gave another small, quiet smile. "Nowadays, I am referred to as Arata."

* * *

12 Yuki-Onna – a spirit or yokai in Japanese folklore often associated with windstorms and is said to be the spirit of someone who has perished in the snow. She is at the same time beautiful and serene, and yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting mortals. Some stories say she appears to travellers trapped in snowstorms and uses her icy breath to leave them as frost-covered corpses, other legends says she leads them astray so they simply die of exposure. There are many other different legends portraying Yuki-Onna differently, some more aggressive than others. (from Wiki)

* * *

 _ **Yep. Haha. So a lot of revelations or something with the characters, if I may say so myself.**_

 _ **What they call the trash ship has emerged! Yep, I'm serious about writing this that way. If there are fans of Sudo Akito who happened to be reading this, I apologize if I didn't capture his character here well. I did my best, but if I still missed then please do not send me to the gallows. I did mention this is an AU, so there will**_ **be** _ **OOCness here and there. I have tried imagining how Sudo Akito would be if he had fallen in love, then he might be a yandere or something. He was capable of being sweet, with a touch of perverseness, probably. And admit it, him being imagined with Chihaya – you have to see that there is a certain charm there, if you take away his sadistic side, which is something that he was forcing himself to be if I am reading him right.**_

 _ **Shinobu and her identity. Now her power and its apparent relation to ice made more sense.**_

 _ **Arata makes an appearance! Haha. He might play a bigger role… though that remains to be seen in the next chapters. He may also know the reason behind Taichi's apparent illness. Hmm. Hopefully.**_

 _ **Well, I still hope you liked the chapter no less than the first ones. Comments, reactions, reviews… let me know how you felt with this. Click the little button below there as usual. But again, no flames. I can accept constructive criticism, but not the unrefined ones. Let's get along well okay?**_

 _ **Next chapter… hopefully in a much shorter time. No promises though.**_

 _ **Lovelots,**_

 _ **Michiko**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Ugh.**_

 _ **Yep, happy holidays to everyone. I hoped everyone enjoyed Christmas, and I'm sorry if I couldn't post this sooner. There had been a lot of minor setbacks (really? not sure if it's just minor) when I was writing this.**_

 _ **First, I had almost lost this file. Yeah, the same accident I had when I was writing The First and Last if I remember correctly. For some reason, my flash drive was not being read by the stupid PCs. This was important because all the manuscripts of the fics I have made for this fandom are all in**_ **here,** _ **and I do not have back-up files**_ **.** _ **I just had a minor heart attack last week due to this moment of panic. It was probably a good thing that the pc itself is the one with the problem, though I now need to remember that I had to make back-up files if I don't want to rewrite everything from the start.**_

 _ **On the other hand, I was also sick. Yeah, cough and cold at the**_ **same** _ **time. Geez, right? I wasn't able to properly enjoy the holidays because of it! Until now, I still am speaking in a raspy voice. I was being teased mercilessly due to it being all husky but –**_

 _ **Anyway, my apologies for subjecting you all to my ranting and probably the longest A/N you guys have seen. On to my original purpose here then.**_

 _ **So yeah, this is somewhat a belated holiday gift to people who are watching out and in stand by for this fic (are there still any? hahaha) and again I am hoping that you will like it. A few more revelations are up ahead, and I hope you guys will like that some things are coming into light. A warning though: some of it may post even more questions.**_

 _ **Thank you again to my faithful reviewers: Loyu-chan of course, and PaulaGato.**_

 _ **The poem and prayer (in the prologue) was something**_ **I** _ **have made. Please do not use it without my permission if you don't want to lose a few front teeth. Hahaha.**_

 _ **Chihayafuru is still not mine, just to remind you guys.**_

* * *

 **IV**

* * *

 _The wind is one hard to tame,_

 _Not one to be captured or be still,_

 _Wisdom and truth belonged to him –_

 _And are carried in his whispers_

 _That which we may celebrate or may be a reason of our ruin,_

 _Therefore, I say,_

 _Beware of who holds the lassos of the wind,_

 _For he is the wind incarnate himself,_

 _He is the brother of storm and lightning,_

 _He is a life-giver just as much as the destroyer himself,_

 _The wind is not one to bow down to a master,_

 _But even as he can lay waste the world in his fury,_

 _Know that what the wind loves,_

 _He loves gently and truthfully_

 _And he protects_

 _What was rightfully his._

* * *

 _1001, Heian-Jidai_

* * *

"I will never understand what it is about the human world which makes you so enticed to stay with them, brother."

He turned to look at his companion who, like him, was peering over the edge of a dark, fluffy cloud they were sitting in, looking down into the world below them. The area they were passing on seemed to be holding some festival of sorts and through their sharp visions they could see a lot of humans enjoying themselves – women talking to each other and greeting friends, vendors shouting here and there for people to come and try their wares – some to try their food stalls, others busy lighting simple firecrackers. Some of them who were looking up, seeing the dark cloud passing by high above them looked nervous though, which was probably due to the fact that a dark cloud meant rain, or a storm, something that will definitely be a bummer since they were in the middle of a celebration.

"I do not have to pretend to be someone I am not." He replied simply, lying flat on his back once more.

His companion snorted disbelievingly and glanced over at him with an expression which clearly said 'what the hell, dude?' "Not pretend to be someone you are not? You are disguising yourself as one of those humans, brother! You are degrading yourself by trying to become one of them!"

"13Raijin," he began, in a tone which was more resigned than anything, "We have had this argument countless of times, more times than I would care to count. Why will you not give it up?"

The one he called Raijin sat up and glared at him, "Because all eyes are on you, in case you are forgetting. Many would like to see you out of the gates of the Imperial Palace of the Heavens. Permanently."

"Is there any difference to being in _that_ prison than that one below?" He asked in a scathing, unforgiving tone, returning his brother's glare at him twice as intense.

Raijin threw his hands up, clearly exasperated. "I could _not_ understand why you are so adamant to remain in the human world! Do you wish to become a human?"

He sat up, now clearly irritated, getting into the spirit of the argument which he did not even want to have in the first place. "I wish to find _peace_. Peace which I would never have if I remain in the Imperial Palace pretending to be a god when I am clearly not!"

Raijin was equally exasperated. "You _are_ a god, no matter how you look at it! Turn the world upside down or whichever way you want to, but you _are_ one. Do you still think of yourself as some lowly demon?"

"We _are_ demon gods. Or at least we used to be demons before – before all this happened." He lifted a hand and started to massage his temples, feeling something – like pain that is, begin to form. Can demons have headaches or something? "Just leave me be, Raijin. I will be alright being in the human world. I have lived in there for _years_."

His brother snorted. "Yes I have no doubt that you will be _alright_ , seeing as you have been spending all your time with a mortal woman."

He glared at him, albeit with no real meaning behind it. "Are you really trying to start a fight with me?"

Raijin held his hand up. "No. But I am concerned for you, brother. It wouldn't take them long to find out that you have been spending the last years in the human world disguised as one of those mortals and – and is holding a mortal woman special, above all others and everyone else."

"I have been doing my duties. As far as I know I have not been doing anything wrong." He responded matter-of-factly, not sounding in the least bit disturbed and worried, unfazed about his brother pointing out his relationships. "They cannot expect me to be holed up in the palace and try to look impressively frightening as they do, waiting for humans to pray for _my_ protection and guidance. The wind does not want to be kept locked and under watch." He added almost in a completely flat tone, still not bothering to look the least bit concerned with what his brother was trying to point out.

"Brother…"

"Raijin." He cut him off, sitting up once again to look once more into the area below him, watching humans celebrate and just enjoy the evening with good moods before turning to look at his brother gravely in the eye once more. "You do not have to come with me. I am not asking you to do that, nor was I _planning_ to ask you to. I am more comfortable with the fact that you are being well-looked after at the palace. You can live the life you deserve to have there." He smiled at him as he ruffled his hair, and his smile turned almost sad, "But the palace is not for me. I will go insane if I will continue staying there. I do _not_ belong there. I have _conscience_. They simply don't." He shook his head, still with a forlorn tone.

Raijin was forced to sigh and agree once more with him. "I hope you know what you are doing."

He took a deep breath. "Yes, no matter how insane I sounded to you and to anyone else, believe it or not, I know what I am doing. You know how I feel about everything – about having to live in there. I know that I _should_ not be there. A god should be a god. Unforgiving and unapproachable. Mighty. Feared but respected. I do not have those qualities."

"You are the wind!" Raijin argued. "Many have feared your power alone, brother. Why is it that you are so adamant to set yourself apart from everyone – from all of us? You have wisdom. That alone is something which sets apart a god from mere mortals!"

He laughed, deciding to ignore how his brother had scoffed at his apparent ignorance of his abilities. "Thank you, Raijin. But I am not like them. Please understand that, dear brother." He turned to gaze at the sky, looking at the crescent moon which shone brightly at a landscape. "I hope that you will find your happiness. Even if I am apart from you, know that – that I hold you dearly above anyone else." He continued, even as his voice cracked, unused to bearing the weight of so much emotion, and in front of his brother no less.

Raijin felt uncomfortable, feeling as if he was already saying his farewells. "Will I see you again?"

He turned to look at him, eton-blue eyes alight with hope. "Of course. There is no storm without lightning and the wind together. You can expect me to visit every now and then." Saying this, he stood up on the dark, fluffy cloud, grinning at his brother as he prepared to jump down from the cloud and descend once more to the mortal world. "Eat well and stay healthy for me, Raijin!"

Raijin raised a single hand in farewell as his brother jumped down, and, almost as if he took all the wind and carefree atmosphere with him, everything around Raijin fell silent – the silence almost deafening as he watched his brother descend into the mortal world once more.

He felt incredibly alone and sad all of a sudden.

"I hope this will not be the last time we met, brother."

* * *

But neither of them knew it will be the last time they will see each other.

It was an another memory which he had buried deep into the recesses of his mind, one of the only things he can actually try to remember without feeling that he was breaking his own heart in two. His brother, Raijin. The one who presides over thunder, lightning and storms. Together with him, they can wipe out communities, sometimes even an entire country if they wanted to.

Some time after that brief get-together just between him and his brother, he had been thrown out into the mortal world permanently, as punishment for disobeying the laws of heaven, they had claimed. What his brother's fears are for him had come true with absolute and deadly certainty, but despite of everything, he had been somewhat relieved to have been given a sentence to serve hundreds of years in the human realm, instead of regretting being thrown out into the mortal world. His abilities had remained intact, for some unknown reason. It may be Buddha looking kindly upon him still, he didn't know, but all his abilities had remained as it is.

No, he did not regret things one bit. As he had said before to his brother, he no longer had to pretend to be someone he was not.

It was probably strange that he had never found himself as a god, but more of a demon. It doesn't really make much of a difference, knowing and having the power to control nature itself and ruin people's lives – there really isn't much of a change when it came to being a god or a demon, if one would like to think about it. In his and his brother's case though, they were demonic creatures-turned-gods in a way. There is a fine line dividing these two supposed powerful beings – what does it mean to be a god or a demon, anyway? Both are capable of wiping out an entire race if they chose to, no matter which way one would like to look at it.

Ugh. Why did he have that dream again? It was just making him recall painful memories once more.

He was aware of his current state, even in his unconsciousness. He was delirious, his temperature at the highest, which would kill any human had he been one. Should he be thankful for that? Probably. He was having dreams once more in his delirium – dreams of the former life he had, a life that he had never been interested to have and his identity that he had never acknowledged – and with good reason as to why he never did.

Once or twice he knew he had called out Tsukiko's name – the memory of her last moments with him was something which had been clear to him like it had just happened yesterday, like it was something that had been branded into the tissues of his brain. The memory was no less painful each time he recalled it; hell, he had been living with it for centuries. He had not mastered the art of becoming apathetic to it unfortunately; not that he had wanted to in the first place.

' _Live, Tetsuro-sama. You have told me that you would grant any wish I have… Then I wish for you to live. For me, anata.'_

Because she knew what he would have done if she had not made such a wish. He would have probably made a killing spree had he let his anger completely blind him – anger at the foolish mortals who had taken Tsukiko's life. He would have used the last bit of energy and power he possessed at the time, to make sure that none of the humans who had dared to take Tsukiko from him survive – no longer caring if he will disappear as well due to it as beings like him can still die if there was no one left to worship them or if, in his case, they had decided to disguise themselves as humans and was killed with their power at its weakest.

It would be a massacre of disastrous proportions, which would have been written in history with the blood of the people he had killed, had he done it.

It had been difficult to accept that wish, but his love for the mortal woman had won over his anger. It was something that he did not know how to accept after all in the first place – the one woman he had loved and cherished was torn away from him. He knew he wouldn't care to live in a world without her very presence which had brought hope and color back in his long life. And yet, despite of his righteous anger, he had decided to grant her last wish – for him to continue living, even if that meant just existing and _not_ living, without her by his side.

Although honestly, in these moments, he did not know whether to regret his decision of granting that and becoming a doctor after centuries of trying to live and hide away from mortal eyes.

There were a few moments when he had wanted to regret becoming a doctor, of course. Whenever he had to perform surgeries on ungrateful people, for one. It would really be nice if some of them would actually learn how to be grateful to people who had saved their lives, although that was probably too much to ask for. Being imperfect and impudent defines being a human being after all.

But now, his world had been turned upside down once more, and he was seriously starting to contemplate whether he should continue being a doctor when his feelings are being toyed around like this.

Ayase Chihaya.

Taichi couldn't believe it, in all honesty.

What was happening, really? Was Tsukiko somehow revived? Or was this the work of reincarnation – that she was somehow a reincarnated Tsukiko who had finally decided to come back after centuries to haunt him because she couldn't find peace, even in the after life?

It was the only conclusion he could come to, considering the fact that they – he – had originally belonged to another era and her death had not exactly been a peaceful one.

He didn't know what to think. He was able to function properly days ago because he was still a doctor – it was a duty, an oath he had sworn when he had graduated from medicine to save people no matter how difficult or life-threatening it took. He had raised his hand and recited the oath when he had graduated according to human laws, as the representative of his batch back then. It was thanks to this same oath that he was able to somehow – though not completely, that is – ignore what was happening earlier and do what his job originally entailed.

But now that all is said and done, as they say, he was at a loss of what to do.

He loved Tsukiko. He did, and had never regretted it. With his entire being and life, he had offered everything to her, but look at where that love had taken her. She had been hurt because of him, and it had led to her untimely death; she had simply and unfairly been taken before her time. He had granted her last wish and had become a doctor as a penance for his sins. He had been thrown out into the mortal realm and was forced to live thousands of years, accepting everything as his punishment for not knowing his place and for not accepting who he was.

But this – this was simply too much.

He didn't know what to do because honestly, he didn't know how to face Tsukiko's modern doppelganger. He wouldn't be able to treat her as a normal patient who had been assigned under his care because he did not know how he will be able to face _her_ without feeling as if he was looking at the mortal who had singlehandedly earned her place in his heart by taking her time to crash the walls he had built to protect himself from humans one by one eons ago.

In spite of this though, Taichi was no fool. He knew that these women were not one and the same; no matter how scarily they look alike with one another. Or how this Ayase Chihaya looked a lot like her ancient counterpart. There would be differences in the behavior and attitude alone, even if he were to ignore the appearance. The way they interact with him would be one hell of a difference of course.

But it doesn't change the fact that he would be tearing off his stitches that he had painstakingly placed over the wounds he had from the past – _without_ anesthesia, whenever he looked at her.

Damn, had he become more imaginative and dramatic with his figurative comparison.

So he goes back to the question: does he continue on with being her doctor if ever he gets better from this damn illness, or does he just ask another surgeon to look after her?

He can do that.

Still.

Does he fight, or does he take flight?

Hmm. Another choice to make. He had been making a lot of snap decisions this week, hadn't he?

He was brought back to the cruel reality with an equally cruel feeling of something hammering in his skull. He felt like his skull was being split open into two, and every part of him was aching so much – almost like the time that he had been on the receiving end of Raijin's wrathful lightning rods when they had gotten in a quarrel (a really petty one actually, one knows what brothers could be like,) and he imagined that he would be bruised all over if he could be beaten physically.

He couldn't _freaking_ move.

He shouldn't be so surprised, really. Healing someone when you are not supposed to is considered a blasphemy of some sort for his kind. It goes against the very nature of them supernatural beings – they were supposed to be revered, kneeled and prayed upon, mighty and powerful beings who can destroy a nation singlehandedly if they wanted to. Humans should be their playthings and toys, something to laugh at or amuse themselves with, or at the worst case scenario – dinner or a sacrifice to their temples and altars.

They can help though, if they wanted to. Become good benefactors or good guides in a journey, grant some of them with their blessing if the nation they considered under their protection is at war, or even, to provide good fortune to some of them, mortals, for the rest of their lives if they have proven themselves worthy of such rewards.

But to heal them with their own abilities was considered going too far. Especially when the being you were trying to heal – a mortal, that is – was already on the verge of death. They were not supposed to go against nature's course, or even, to _directly_ influence the path of a certain mortal, because that is what fate had already decided. They are beings with a higher obligation to just be there and watch and _exist_ , to basically bore themselves out for thousands of years, occasionally granting wishes here and there, but never to intervene with what fate had already decided upon on their own just because they _chose_ to.

If there is anyone among them who was an idiot enough to disobey this illogical rule, there is always a price to pay.

Which he was the one idiot enough to try doing – look at what the hell was happening to him.

His mouth felt like lead. This was the very reason why he could not even open his mouth to talk to Shinobu, dear, _dear_ Shinobu, who had taken it upon herself to care for him as he lay unconscious and like a useless rag doll for forty two hours straight. He knew how much she was worrying for him right now, even if she would rather freeze him to death than admit it. He knew, because if their situation was reversed he would be doing the same thing for her. He sighed in his unconsciousness – he had never explained to her what might happen to him if he had done what could be considered as an illegal thing, and he felt sorry for her that she was having a rude awakening now because of his apparent secrecy when it came to the one rule he will have to follow still.

Well, that was before he felt the arrival of a divine creature.

The aura that he exuded alone was enough for him to recognize who had actually decided to pay him a visit all of a sudden and without warning. Though he was used to sudden appearances of inhuman beings, it did not change the fact that he was still wary of them. After all, he was thrown out into the human realm permanently with their decision, it doesn't change the fact that his supposed _own_ kind were the ones responsible for him being unable to return to heaven to even see his brother as he had sworn to do so every now and then a long, long time ago.

He forced himself to regain consciousness once more, using a bit of his reserved power to open his eyes and move.

"Tsukiyomi no Mikoto." He greeted, breath still catching in his chest as he tried to sit up and support himself with the backrest of his couch. "Well. To what do I owe the pleasure of having the God of the Moon descending into my humble home?"

The raven-haired supposed god raised an eyebrow at him, and shook his head. "I see you are as distrustful as usual." He shrugged, stepping forward a bit closer to him. "No one calls me Tsukiyomi nowadays though. And I see you are still in the company of Yuki-Onna."

Shinobu, despite being wary, had acknowledged his statement by revealing her true form – a woman who wore a pure white kimono, hair completely silver and reaching down to her waist, eyes glowing an ice blue. Taichi's lips curled into a smile up to the corners of his lips. Wakamiya Shinobu was already intimidating enough in her human disguise, but in her true form she can terrify even the biggest, most bad-ass men they know in this era.

He turned to his divine visitor, after winking at Shinobu who glared at him, but not before letting him catch a glimpse of her relief to know that he was finally awake. She bowed civilly to the raven-haired god, who held up a hand to stop her mid-way and shook his head at her infinitesimally. "Pray tell what should we call you now, then?" Taichi asked, as Shinobu gave a shrug of her own at the god's apparent _amazing_ humility.

The Moon god smiled a small one once more. "Nowadays I prefer to be called Arata. It is much easier to remember, after all." He glanced once more to Taichi, who had raised an eyebrow with his physical appearance – looking absolutely regal in his royal moon-ish robes. He rolled his sapphire eyes. "I know what you're thinking; but I just came in from the Imperial Palace, you have to understand." So saying he snapped his fingers and his royal robes changed into a black hoodie, simple jeans and black and white checkered sneakers. "There. Much better?"

"Loads better." Taichi gritted out forcefully, still in a breathless voice, as he grimaced a bit with the continuous pounding in his head. "Shinobu is intimidating enough in her real form. It wouldn't do for you to appear like that here as well; you'll just give me a heart attack."

"Can gods even have a heart attack?" Tsukiyomi – Arata, cracked a smile, though his countenance was more worried than he appeared to be as he asked that rhetorical question. Then his expression turned more serious as he saw how Taichi's expression became closed-off. "As much as I appreciate you making light of the situation, Taichi – am I right, that's what you want to be called nowadays isn't it? – there is a different reason for me being here all of a sudden, you know."

Taichi's expression became guarded, and he sighed, still soldering on with his head still feeling like it was about to crack open into two. "I know what you're here for but forgive me if I have no desire of hearing – "

"Why do you even keep on doing this to yourself?" The Moon god cut him off in a pained and concerned tone, eyes trained on his expression. "You know how much pain you'll be in when you try to heal someone who you are not supposed to, do you? The kind of pain which will weaken you so much to the point that you cannot even move and will render you completely unconscious for a few days?" The deity asked bitingly, showing signs of his fraying temper.

Taichi didn't respond, preferring to return Arata's gaze on him with a stony expression on his face. Seeing the forming tension in the room and feeling like she could slice it with one of her special sharp stalactites, Shinobu sighed and transformed back into her human form, tucking a stray strand of her blue-black hair behind her left ear. "I'll be going out for a second. Does ramen sound good?" She asked as she turned to her friend once more, expecting him to respond even while having trouble breathing properly and even focusing on their heavenly guest.

"Get me one, please. I think Tsukiyomi here would also like to have some – that is, if you don't mind eating human food." He looked at him questioningly with an eyebrow raised as if to tell him 'You better not act all picky'. When Arata just sighed and nodded at the both of them, Taichi smiled up at her, making Shinobu more concerned due to his pale complexion. "Thank you, I owe you one." He forced himself to grit out – even just talking for a short while was draining his energy out of him.

Shinobu sighed once more, tapped Taichi on the shoulder in a gesture of support, before she slowly dissolved into thin air, leaving only the coldest of breezes in her wake.

The raven turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

Taichi did not need to be a mind reader to understand what he was trying to ask. "No, we're not like that." The brunette clarified, almost sounding teasing in spite of the fact that he was currently sick. "It may be the only logical outcome considering how long we've stuck together, but we couldn't stand seeing each other more than that."

Arata sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had no doubt about Taichi's feelings, but he was a little doubtful of the Yuki-Onna's. He must be really sick – or had grown insensitive in his time in the human realm if he was not able to see the signs. He did not want to be the one to point it out though, preferring to sit in the sidelines and observe, trusting his… friend's judgment and deciding to give Taichi the benefit of the doubt. "Point taken." He said in a non-committal tone, not wanting to add to the man's stress of having him descend to the human world – in the meantime, that is, since he had decided to pay him a sudden and unexpected visit. He didn't want to add to the man's headache with his speculations regarding the guy's love life.

Taichi shrugged, but made no comment at the expression of disbelief he knew he was clearly displaying. "Sit, Tsukiyomi. I don't want you to stand in there all night; you're just making it harder for me to talk to you."

Arata shook his head, lifting a hand and waving it in an almost dismissive manner – summoning a simple chair out of nowhere and sitting down on it, facing the backrest instead and leaning on it with his arms crossed at the top. "Arata will do, Taichi. You have no need to be so formal, it was just the two of us." He noted the brunette's difficulty of even trying to breathe, how he was already frighteningly as pale as a sheet already. No, scratch that, maybe even _paler_ than that. "Here." He tossed a vial of a gold-colored liquid to him, watching as Taichi raised a hand exhaustedly but still managed to catch it single-handedly in his right hand.

"Nectar?" He raised an eyebrow at the vial he had caught after staring at it for a second. His vision swam. It made him recall the time when the same thing happened and he shook his head to try to at least clear it.

"It's not as good as the water from the fall of spring; but it can still help you heal faster. It would have to do." Arata sighed, noting how Taichi seemed to lean a bit further to the side after shaking his head. Even _that_ made him lose a bit of his balance and become more dizzy, the poor guy. "You need that, obviously. I don't want you losing consciousness on me when I'm trying to talk to you."

"You descended all the way here just to give me this? Aren't you a sweet heart?" He managed to tease as Arata shivered and made a face. For someone who was supposed to govern the moon with it's cycle and power, and was supposed to be serious and somewhat forlorn as what his charge symbolizes, Arata is somewhat… cool and lenient for a god, if that is even possible.

"Yes, but I digress. Just drink, and I'll go back to what I was talking about earlier."

Taichi snorted, but uncorked the vial and tipped it back into his mouth, but lowered it again after a second. "I hope you are not trying to get me drunk." He joked weakly, before tipping it back to his lips and drinking the sweet-smelling _and_ tasting liquid, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as the liquid grazed his throat.

"It doesn't even equal to what you are used to consume." Was the simple rejoinder from the Moon god.

Taichi chuckled, feeling the nectar start working it's magic as soon as he had swallowed the last drop. His vision cleared and steadied for a bit, though he still felt as if an eight-wheeler truck had just ran him over and torn him to pieces.

"Thanks. Though you didn't have to go through all this trouble, Arata." He placed the vial down at the carpeted floor beside his couch, making a mental note to throw it out later on, feeling his chest lighten a bit as he was able to breathe easier. "I don't think they would be pleased if they find out that you were keeping in contact with me." He added in a matter-of-fact tone.

Arata fixed him with a stern look. "You should return to the Imperial Palace, Taichi."

The other man looked at him disbelievingly. "I can't believe you of all… deities will ask me to do that, Arata. Didn't you get the memo when they threw me out here?" He asked, unable to keep the harshness completely out of his tone even when the moon deity in front of him was one of the few he didn't _totally_ distrust and was wary of coming into contact with.

"Your sentence here in the human realm is almost over." The raven-haired deity explained, knowing full well that it wouldn't be easy convincing his counterpart to return once more into the heavenly realm. "I'm sure you are well aware of that. You know that you are allowed to go back."

"That wasn't what I understood when I was sentenced in here." He said, expression turning sour, hinting at the ancient fury that was still lying beneath the surface of his features, almost making him look like the demon he had used to be and he was well known about. Arata shivered in recollection of a particular event marked in the very pages of their history. Though being a deity himself, Arata had good reason to be cautious – Taichi made for a very dangerous enemy when the wrong buttons are pushed. His abilities are not something to sneeze at – Arata remembered well what had happened when Kublai Khan had attempted to invade Japan _twice_ , thousands of years ago. Being a god meant that he can remember events; fortuitous and tragic alike, as clear as if it had only happened the day before. "It's a life sentence, _Tsukiyomi_. Reclusio Perpetua, if you even want to call it that. They had made it very clear that I will not be able to return in exchange of being able to live my life in peace here in the mortal realm."

Arata sighed frustratedly out, again rubbing the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache forming, as unbelievable as it is from happening. "I do believe you are being stubborn."

"Do I have to explain myself yet again?" The brunette sounded equally exasperated. "I do _not_ belong there. Even if I am allowed to go back, I will _not_ choose to. I am an eyesore to every one of them; it's clear that I am no longer welcome and had _never_ been in the first place. Why should I have to complicate things by just returning to a place where I was seen as a spiteful creature who doesn't know where his boundaries lay?"

"Is that self-pity I am hearing?" Arata countered, beginning to be annoyed as he fixed him a stink-eye.

"It is a statement of fact." Was the scathing response. "I do not do self-pity, my friend, in case you have forgotten. Forgive me for being mercilessly tactless and for just pointing out what was obvious."

Goddamn. Arata wanted to curse out loud but he cannot (as a respectable god of the Moon, he should not). No matter what his counterpart says, he believed that Taichi had always deserved to be in the Imperial Palace just as any one of them heavenly beings do. He had proven himself twice as many times over and he should be there, taking his rightful place in the heavens.

But he couldn't deny the fact that what Taichi was pointing out was true. Even before his seclusion in the human world, they knew that many are wary of having someone like him as someone like _them_. This is still taking into account that he had saved Japan twice before. Really, gods can be petty and unreasonable when they wanted to be, and are disgustingly experts when it came to making someone feel that they do not belong in their territory.

But in Arata's point of view, if Taichi really wanted to be left alone, he would have to go back at least and settle things with his heavenly counterparts. To have some sort of closure, probably. It will be necessary if he wanted to gain some semblance of peace which had been torn forcedly away from him when he had lost the only woman he had ever loved in his entire life.

"What about Raijin?" Arata asked, determined to not give in. "Your brother… do you not wish to see him?"

At this, Taichi bristled. Of course he wanted to see him. He did promise that he would visit from time to time the last time they were able to talk. But things were different from back then; he was not yet thrown out of the Imperial Palace for punishment. Now that he was an outcast and had lived hundreds of years in the mortal realm, it was a fact that Raijin should not be in contact with him – because they all knew that Raijin would be in danger of experiencing the same treatment as him if he tried to be in contact with his younger brother.

"Of course I do." He was forced to admit that simple fact out.

The Moon god threw both of his hands up in the air in his exasperation. "So what the hell was keeping you from seeing your brother, even if you didn't want to come back?"

"For his protection you airheaded idiot, what else?" Taichi spat at the raven-haired deity in his annoyance, doing his best to keep himself in check and not to give the serene man a bonk on the head. "I am exiled; Tsukiyomi, do I have to remind you that? Nothing good will come out of it if I visit him _now_. Do you want him to receive the same treatment as I did just because he was still in contact with his _rebellious_ brother?"

Arata was looking at him in disbelief; and Taichi could only understand why. He knew he must sound like he was just making up excuses of not having to come back; and there was probably a part of him who really does _not_ want to go back, but he was also worried with the reception Raijin was likely to have to go through and will have to endure if he comes in contact with him. He knew how unforgiving and merciless the Imperial Palace can be with those they consider as 'out of their league' or even, to those who have been considered as deities-in-exile. For the peace of his younger brother's mind, he would have to wait for the right opportunity to come to be back.

Considering that he had been waiting for that already for a thousand years or so though, he couldn't bet on that much.

"Forgive me for berating you like this, but you sound like you're just making up a pile of bull – "

Taichi raised his left hand and flicked it; making a transparent band of something whirling – like a compressed amount of air – fly towards Arata, aimed right for his mouth. It latched onto the deity's lips, pressing it shut, before he had the chance to snap it out of the way and immediately cutting him off more effectively than any other form or reprimand that may come from the brunette.

The moon deity snapped his fingers and dissolved the air band which had been formed like a handkerchief over his mouth and glared at him once more. "What was that for?"

"I can't have you cursing in my home, Tsukiyomi. The last thing I want to happen is me being tagged as a bad influence on you. You're a proper god – someone who's worthy of respect and admiration. Don't soil your reputation on my behalf." Taichi responded, sounding exhausted once more, as if that simple display of his ability had drained the energy he had just managed to accumulate with the nectar given to him.

"You make that a tall order for me, 14 _Fujin_." Arata hissed, still unforgiving, making no effort of hiding his annoyance at the only other being he considered his genuine friend, in spite of the many differences between the two of them.

It seemed that his statement had that desired effect of finally succeeding to get another reaction out of Taichi. The breeze flowing gently inside the room suddenly increased in strength, almost turning to something like a gale instead of just a gentle breeze passing by. It swirled and gathered around him and the brunette, lifting the hood of his sweater as he stared straight at Taichi, unwilling to back down from this moment, when Taichi displayed just the tiniest bit of his real power which had saved Japan more than once.

For a split second, Taichi's eyes glowed an eton blue as the gale turned stronger, turning to a miniature tornado-like gale, lifting the hair from his forehead, and Arata's breath caught as he felt _and_ glimpsed fragments and traces of the former's real form –

\- A demon-like aura suffused with goodness which was a strange feeling to have surrounded him, the spectator to this long-awaited display of the former's power, and he just watched as two little streaks of green, uneven lines – looking like scratch marks – appeared on each side of his face, and a small horn protruded from just above his hairline at the middle of his head. The symbol of the wind, the kanji writing that is, also glowed in the middle of his forehead like it was being engraved on his skin.

Arata thought that Taichi will finally fully transform into his real-self, an event which had not occurred in thousands of years, but he was wrong; as if the last of his energy had been finally drained, the strong gale turned back into a gentle breeze caressing both of them, and the man tipped forward, already on the verge of unconsciousness once more.

"Baka!" Another voice beat Arata to what he was about to exclaim as the Yuki-Onna appeared out of thin air once more, dropping her bag of goodies as she caught Taichi before he decided to get friendly with his carpeted floor. "Do you really have to let go of your control like that?"

Taichi patted her hand in thanks as he managed to right himself, leaning sideways into the backrest of his couch and looking at Arata with eyes the normal amber hues once more, half-opened in exhaustion, continuing on with their conversation in all his nonchalance as if nothing had happened a few minutes ago. "My apologies. You should have known better than to have called me that, Tsukiyomi. I no longer have the right to bear that name the moment they decided to have me exiled from heaven." He pointed in a chiding tone, as if he was scolding a younger, unaware kid.

"And yet, your body had reacted on its own." Arata pointed out to counter him, also sounding exhausted. "Don't you think you're pushing yourself too far of denying everything which is what made you who you are today?"

Taichi smiled wryly. "Will you lay off my case if I promise to see my brother at the right time if I was even given an opportunity?"

The moon deity sighed. He knew that the brunette's question is a silent plea: _Let it go, please._ _Just let it pass._

"If I tell you yes, will you stop acting like a stubborn brat and heed my words even _once_?"

Taichi chuckled, though the sound was weak and shaky. "Fine. I'm tired of having you breathe down my neck. Happy?"

Arata glared at him, though with no real force behind it. For all Taichi's bravado and confidence, he could see that his effort of trying to bravely hold himself up was beginning to crumble. He was on the verge of collapsing, but is doing everything he could of holding on to the last minute probably due to Yuki-Onna, who had gone into the kitchen to start preparing the ramen she had bought. He didn't want to worry the poor girl again, Arata had guessed.

"I forgot to tell you something." Taichi sighed out, almost breathlessly once more.

He raised an ebony eyebrow. "I'm listening anyway."

Closing his eyes, he breathed out his statement with difficulty in a low voice that Arata had to lean forward to even hear him: "I think… Tsukiko has returned."

The movement in the kitchen stopped, as a fork fell with a loud 'clang' onto the floor.

* * *

"What? Her doctor is still out?"

Chihaya sighed worriedly, as Sudo Akito asked a bit harshly, sounding confused and somewhat annoyed. The attending nurse who had come in to check her vital signs and condition now that she had woken up flinched and shrank back a bit, intimidated with the silver-haired man's height and aura.

"From what he has informed us when he did Ayase-san's surgery, he will be out in a few days. He already looked ill when he had spoken to us about the patient's procedures." The nurse straightened up noticeably from shrinking back, seeming to have found strength at the fact that she wasn't making up things and that she had been there when the doctor had given them careful instructions as to what they should expect should there be complications that the patient may have due to the surgeries still done on her. Doctors are humans too; they can still be sick at the wrong time. They are not completely immune to illnesses. "Please understand, Sudo-san. I know how worried you are right now, but doctors are still capable of being sick, every now and then. On the other hand;" she paused as she checked Chihaya's heart rate and took note of it on her trusty clipboard, "Mashima-sensei has left specific instructions as to what we should do just in case there will be complications with Ayase-san's condition. If it's something that will be too much for us, nurses, he has also enlisted the help of another surgeon in his department. He has not completely left Ayase-san vulnerable."

"You make it sound as if I am accusing you guys of not doing anything." Akito stated matter-of-factly. Chihaya held his right hand and squeezed it, trying to get him to calm down, as she shook her head at him, trying to get him to back down and let it go for now. He raised his eyebrows at her, giving her an I-am-merely-telling-it-like-it-is look. "He even performed her surgery when he was not feeling well? That could have been dangerous." He pointed out, determined to set things straight.

"He is supposed to be on his day off at the time Ayase-san has been brought in here." The nurse straightened up and finally glared at Akito as she addressed the two of them directly, clearly not hiding her irritation at the silver-haired man's tone. "He is the only doctor at the time who has had enough expertise to know what to do with her case, so we were forced to call him back. I have been there when the surgery has been performed on her, and please believe me when I say that no one else could have handled it better than him. None of us had realized that she would have an aortic dissection – the chest x-ray we had taken at the time didn't show the signs of it." Her expression softened and relaxed as she smiled at Chihaya once more. "But you have a very brilliant doctor, Ayase-san – he had guessed in advance that there is a possibility of a torn aorta occurring, so he had already asked us to prepare the bypass. If it had been a different doctor who had handled your surgery, there _is_ a possibility that we wouldn't have been able to do anything on time to save your life."

Chihaya was forced to swallow the hard lump at her throat, as she thought of the possibility that she would already have been lying dead in a morgue with her mother hysterical, her father crying hard at the sight of seeing her so limp and lifeless, and her sister bent over her, also crying her eyes out.

She grimaced at the morbidity and negativity of her thoughts, thankful that her family didn't have to be subjected to such grief in the meantime.

Akito nodded, almost amused, at the apparent and blatant admiration in the nurse's tone, who was making no effort of hiding it. "That was still kind of him if that's the case."

"And devoted to a fault." Chihaya nodded as well, smiling up at the nurse. "I could not agree more. I should be thankful that he was dedicated to a job which hardly gives people a life once they have it."

"Saving people's lives to the best of our ability is something that we do." A male voice joined their conversation, deep, with a husky quality to it. "It is our oath, after all."

It made goose bumps crawl up her arms and she shivered.

They all turned to see the newcomer, who had just closed the door as he stepped fully inside her room. She caught a glimpse of dark-brown hair as he turned the corner, and her stomach lurched with butterflies in it as she saw him for the first time.

 _Kami-sama… is_ that _my doctor?_

No wonder the nurse who was talking to them about his feat in her surgery almost had a lost, starry-eyed look on her face. If it was possible to exchange it with hearts she could have done it then and there. He walked towards their little group, offering a smile at the nurse who had greeted him with a 'Mashima-sensei! You're back!' and a deep, polite bow.

"Nurse Takano. I am glad to see you are well. Thank you very much for looking after my patient." He returned the greeting kindly, as the nurse became flustered a bit.

"It was nothing sensei. But you – are you already well enough to be up and about? Shouldn't you be resting more? They told us you couldn't get up from bed for days." She asked, genuinely worried for the young doctor.

He shook his head with a small smile. "I'm already fine as I can be. I just caught that flu which had been going around." He then turned to his patient and her guardian, who he did not bother to glance at, at first.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ayase Chihaya-san. I apologize for not being able to check up on you sooner than it was proper." He bowed lightly with a blindingly bright, apologetic and _very_ disarming, charming smile, and she had to force herself to bow as well while sitting, absolutely confused and disbelieving at the moment, utterly dazed with his appearance.

"N-No! I-It was fine, sensei." _He was too young to be a doctor. He doesn't even look like he was already in his early thirties, for Christ's sake! Is this why everyone here is going gaga over him? I'm lucky to have lived through the surgery if they haven't been too distracted by him then!_

Taichi then turned to look at the man who stood beside her, amber eyes widening a fraction when he got a proper look at him for the first time.

Silver hair. Tall frame. Brown eyes. _Really, Kami-sama?_

He knew that this was not the same man who had come with his _really_ distracting patient when she was brought in here days ago, but he felt once more that he had been thrown a curved ball which had hit him right in the face.

Goddamn, how _many_ surprises does he have to deal with in one week anyway?

 _So it was him again, huh?_

* * *

13 Raijin – the Shinto God who presides over storms and lightning. He is never portrayed without Fujin at his side, as they are the ones who control the weather singlehandedly. They are often thought of as brothers.

14 Fujin – the Shinto God of the wind, said to be one of the eldest Shinto gods with Raijin as they are said to be present in the creation of the world. As with Raijin, he is often portrayed to be a scary demonic being who can control the wind. Other legends say that he and Raijin used to be real demons who had originally opposed Buddha, who decided to have them captured instead and work for him, becoming fearsome demonic gods in charge of controlling the weather. He is said to have protected Japan twice thousands of years ago when Kublai Khan tried to invade them using his own power, which resulted to Kublai Khan's army being wiped out completely.

* * *

 _ **Whew. Everybody okay?**_

 _ **I am well aware that I have thrown everyone in a loop. You guys might have been expecting something different after all regarding Taichi's real identity, and a few of you had almost accurate guesses, because it was not that far from what the chapter above has revealed. I am trying to reconcile the legends I am researching and reading with this fic, and I am hoping that you guys somehow appreciate it.**_

 _ **On the other hand, I am also well aware about the fact that this may have just posted more questions. Yes, I may be taking a snail's pace here, (and I do apologize for that really!) but please understand that I wanted to be able to give light to these questions one by one as the story goes on.**_

 _ **We are already in the arc where Taichi and Chihaya will face each other properly for the first time. Excited? I am pretty much hiding in here right now for the cliff-hanger-like ending I gave, but hey, all good things come to those who wait, right? I hope you guys are not planning to kill me just yet.**_

 _ **I have taken lots of liberties when it came to Taichi's real form as a demon-slash-god. I know, it is different with the god of the wind's portrayal in numerous paintings and statues found online; though again I am writing with the fact that I would have to respect Suetsugu-sensei's portrayal of Taichi first and foremost. If you think that this fic is not for you, I am not forcing you to stay. There is a reason it is called Fanfiction, after all. For those who can stomach it though; if you want easier reference for his real self, imagine Sesshoumaru. He's basically my inspiration, the only difference are with the hair, and some of the facial appearance. Try looking for a pic of him online and reconcile it once more with my description here. Leave out the clothes though. The picture for the kanji writing on his forehead can be looked up online too, since I have no idea how to post it in this site.**_

 _ **On a final note, I know you guys noticed Arata's doubtful line of thinking with our cute Yuki-Onna's feelings AND the ending of this chapter.**_

 _ **Hahaha. I won't point it out, obviously, (I am not being mean, I just don't want to spoil things for you guys,) but woe it is for the reader who hasn't realized it yet! I love you darlings. Please remember that.**_

 _ **Hope to see you lovelies in the next chapter (and let me know what you think, of course!),**_

 _ **Michiko :)**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I know that I have been terribly late (late doesn't even begin to cover it) in updating this.**_

 _ **Now let's be nice, children. I just want to make one thing clear: I have not given up writing about these two.**_

 _ **We have a lot of priorities as adults. And as of now, work takes precedence over**_ **anything.** _ **You know the feeling that you wanted to write but you couldn't because you were too exhausted when you go home and all you care about is getting on a bed? That's how I feel now. No matter if you wanted to write, if you're stumped with ideas, then it's all useless. That writer's block has bitten me before, and please help me in praying that I won't be experiencing it again here. I don't want to give up on this, after all.**_

 _ **Anywho, this chapter is for Loyu-chan once more, who seems to be going on through something right now. While I haven't read her new fic yet, I have read part of her A/N and I agree with her. I'm not forcing you to leave notes for like, every chapter, but as I am saying before, letting us know what you think once in a while will be helpful. It bolsters our creativity – and the motivation to write – as well.**_

 _ **Well, I'm cutting the rant here off. Read on, and I hope you'll enjoy.**_

 _ **And no, for the thousandth time, I do not own Chihayafuru.**_

* * *

 **V**

 _New Year, 999 Heian-Jidai_

* * *

"You are seeing another man?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, placing her right hand over her left hand daintily as she looked at the expanse of water below them, the stream almost sparkling from the rays of the sunlight from the late afternoon sun shining far from the horizon, and she raised the same hand to cover her eyes partially and protect them from the brightness of the rays as she gazed far into it.

"Answer me, Tsukiko. Are you really seeing another man?" The man who stood beside her implored in a cool tone. If she didn't know him any better, she would have heard his tone as something calm and soothing.

But she did know him better than anyone, knew him like the back of her hand, and despite of how calm it may sound to others, Tsukiko had heard him differently. She heard the desperate tinge of his tone, the slight edge in it. The discomfort was there, and the hurt accompanying it causing her to grimace as well.

She had always hated causing him pain and hurt, whether it be the physical _or_ the emotional kind, but she couldn't do anything about this one. It was her heart who had decided, and her mind was in agreement. She was already set on one path, and she is not willing to turn her back on it, no matter how ridiculous to others it may sound.

"Is that really the only reason why you came to see me today, Kenjiro, looking as if the hounds of hell were on your heels?" She asked almost sarcastically, tone bordering into annoyance as her eyes narrowed at him, the only thing which conveyed her displeasure at this conversation that they were having.

Matsumoto no Kenjiro. The only son of the Minister of Left, and is the heir of the Matsumoto clan who had always held prestigious positions in the government. Even in the late afternoon sun, his short silver hair shone, casting the other side of his profile in shadow and making the angles on his face sharper. He had dark chocolate brown eyes – which were currently looking at her with disbelief swimming in its brown pools – a high-bridged nose and sharp jaw line. He was what one could call in their era the 'epitome of an aristocrat', and he had a reputation which preceded him even before he himself appears in any gathering.

He also happened to be the only man her father would accept to their family, and so she was betrothed to him. And really, any woman in their time would have fallen over themselves and considered themselves lucky to even be connected to him intimately.

Unfortunately, Tsukiko was not like them, in _any_ way.

She did not have any feelings for him. She may love him and he was of course, important to her, but the love she felt for him was the love of a childhood friend, not in any way special, like he had openly told her and had hoped for, in spite of her having rejected him countless times that she almost felt sorry for having to turn him down multiple times more than she could count.

Kenjiro wasn't having any of it, though – he had told her straight that he was not giving up, just like that, at least. She had always admired his tenacity, but there were times that she wanted to curse him for having it, because he really isn't doing anything that will… well, make her fall for him. Heaven knows she had tried. Of course. When one sees how sincere a person is for showing his affections and how he was willing to do anything for her, one would also be enthused into giving them a chance – especially when he was trying so hard to win her over and prove how deep his love for her ran, how he was willing to care for her much more than her parents ever did. Tsukiko had tried, in all honesty. She had tried gazing at him as a woman would a man.

But the problem is… she really couldn't see him as anything more than a friend. She sometimes wished that she had fallen for him… but she really did not have any feelings for him like that.

"I rushed in here because I wanted to know the truth. The guards… they have… seen you meet with a man. Is that true?" He asked haltingly, in a tone more heartbroken than disbelieving as he pinned her with an-almost pleading gaze.

Tsukiko found herself wincing internally once more at his tone, but more than that she could not control her annoyance at the fact that he had practically had her on 'watch'. "Were you having me followed all this time, Kenjiro? I must tell you that I do not appreciate that."

"Their purpose was to guard you and protect you."

"From what? The chance of meeting other people?" She responded bitingly, displeasure now clearly written over every line of her face, which would unnerve any other normal person who happened to be the one talking to her, what with her status as an aristocrat and all – but it only just made him find her all the more beautiful and lovely in his eyes. "Really, Kenjiro, you should have known better than to use that kind of excuse on me."

"I assure you that I gave them instructions to maintain a respectful distance even as they followed you." Kenjiro responded in a hard, almost sarcastic tone, easily slipping in to his persona as just Kenjiro, not as a man who was the heir to another aristocratic family as he lifted an arm to try to shield himself from the brightness of the late afternoon sun as well.

Tsukiko raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at him, disapproval now more pronounced on every inch of her face. "You know that is not what I am talking about. We are childhood friends, yes, and I know that what you are doing is for my welfare; but as far as I am concerned, this is a violation of my rights. I am well-protected by my handmaids alone; and as much as we are close, you have to understand that we are separate entities who are entitled to make decisions for themselves."

"Really? So that would mean that I am entitled to know and be aware that my betrothed has been meeting a man who is someone I and her father does not know, am I correct?"

Fight her with logic. Matsumoto no Kenjiro knew this rule well and used it to his advantage. Tsukiko's reasoning and caution are always one of the qualities which best described her as the daughter of the aristocratic clan of Sadaijin, who are also known to be descendants of a star clan in charge of becoming assistance to the gods of old. And yes, he meant god _gods_ , if that even made any sense.

Tsukiko has always been hailed as the Sadaijin clan's jewel, the proud lady of the house and mistress of the clan, having had lost her mother at a young age. The Ojousama. She was well-known and respected due to the intelligence and logic she possessed – it was practically impossible to win over an argument with her due to this very ability she had always used at her disposal. It was something which Kenjiro had always found directed at himself more times than he would be interested to count whenever they get into arguments or verbal sparring as they have always engaged in; even as teenagers.

One would even say that it was a pity that she had not been born a man.

He was well aware that if he does not use logic against her, he will not be able to gain an advantage over her. In a way, he had always been thankful that despite of the seemingly hard and cold exterior that Sadaijin no Tsukiko had always put up as a front – as one would expect from ones who have a noble heritage – whenever it came to him, Tsukiko would let down her guard and deal with him as her childhood friend and not as another nobleman.

Too bad that he had fallen for her when she cannot return his affections.

The well-brought up ojousama turned to him, her auburn eyes flashing. "Betrothed? I do not remember agreeing to such an arrangement between our families, Kenjiro."

He returned her glare at her unflinchingly, not backing down from her. Geez. This is why he had fallen for her. Such a headstrong woman…

"Your father has made me your fiancé, Tsukiko, and has chosen _me_ to be the next head of the family; in case you are momentarily forgetting. I do believe he has not made any cancellations regarding his plans of marrying me into your clan." He responded in a hard tone, internally sighing.

"Did you think it actually holds sway over _my_ words? I did not agree to such a thing, how will he possibly be able to hold a wedding of two aristocratic clans wherein the bride had not agreed to being married to the groom? I am well aware that my father is not a foolish man to willingly choose to be the laughingstock of our society." Her voice was even, almost cold, as she turned away from him to let her eyes run over their darkening surroundings.

Kenjiro's brown eyes narrowed at her almost-defensive tone and behaviour. "And what have made _you_ thought that your words will hold authority over the current head of the clan? You may be the lady of the Sadaijin clan, Tsukiko, but your father's words are not to be swayed. Do you intend to be put to death because you selfishly chose not to obey him?"

Tsukiko's hands had curled into fists as she turned to face him once more. "If my father is willing to go as far as using his being the head of the clan as a miserable excuse to hold a sword and hang it over my head, then he does not know me at all."

"Tsukiko – "

"I hold the decisions over my life, Kenjiro. Not even my father will dictate how I will live it. The same goes for you;" here her voice softened as she gazed at him with gentle auburn eyes, "you have the right to live your life as you see fit. I do not see why you allow yourself to be dragged around and told what to do." He couldn't stop himself from flinching at her statement; almost as if her words had not been mere words but physical manifestations of whips as well.

He knew that Tsukiko believed she was right, and he also had to recognize the fact that she actually _is_ , no matter how selfish it may sound. Heaven knew he wanted to agree with her.

But the pain overpowered all other things that he felt at the moment. He was still human who was foolishly trapped with his emotions toward her after all.

He couldn't stop the next words which had come out of his mouth. "Is it _that_ revolting to be my wife and be the future mother of my children, Sadaijin no Tsukiko?"

As soon as he had said it though; he instantly knew he will regret it.

Tsukiko was the one to flinch this time. Whatever snarky response she was expecting from him, it had not been something along those lines _._ And coming from him no less? This was _not_ the Matsumoto no Kenjiro she had grown up with.

"Kenjiro… you know I didn't mean that."

He laughed, a wry, humourless one at that. "So what did you mean? That you don't hate me but you couldn't bring yourself to love me either?"

Her facial expression hardened. So he wants to play that game. "This is not being fair of you, Kenjiro. I have been clear about my feelings for you from the very beginning. You were asinine enough to actually pursue courting me when I have chosen to be vocal and honest with you. I love you as a dear friend. I am sorry that it cannot be more than that. I have tried, and you know this."

He cannot refute that. He knew she did try to make herself fall for him. But it really didn't help things if he were to be honest. Still, the shrill pain from that simple fact did nothing to heal his wounded pride and ego. He turned to fix her a steady gaze.

"So there _is_ a different man who has dared to occupy your thoughts and your heart."

Her expression turned pained. Probably for him – because Tsukiko had always been kind and empathic like that.

"I see no reason why you are so intent of bringing the inquisition down on me, forcing me to admit something which I – "

"Just answer me, Tsukiko." He cut across her statement, halting her as she closed her mouth, looking at him with clear protest in her dark eyes.

"You are so intent to hurt yourself more. Yes, I am thinking about someone else right now, if that would stop you from hounding me with questions." Tsukiko responded in an almost-subdued way, averting her gaze from him. "He is someone who had grown important to me. I hope you will accept that, Kenjiro."

He turned away from her, eyes almost watering from the pain, which had pierced his chest at the admission that Tsukiko had made. He had to literally close his eyes and take deep breaths to try to control and block out the sound of something shattering in the background, which he did not know where it came from at first that he had to open his eyes and look around once more.

Oh wait. He realized where the shattering sound came from. It was from _inside_ him.

That was his heart, damn it.

"I want to meet him."

Tsukiko turned to look at him with disbelief written across every line of her beautiful features. "Forgive me, I seem to have gone deaf for a while there and have not correctly heard you. What did you _just_ say?"

Kenjiro's expression was not amused as he returned her gaze once more with every inch of his will. "I said I wanted to meet him, Tsukiko. I wanted to meet the man who had dared to make you fall for him and take you away from me with just a snap of his fingers."

Tsukiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Have you gone mad, Matsumoto no Kenjiro? Why do you wish to pain yourself even more? More importantly, what do you think had given you the right to think that you can meddle with my personal affairs?"

"Just as I thought, I am least important." It was his comeback, smiling weakly at the face of Tsukiko's impending wrath. His expression turned all business after a minute of putting on a brave front. "As I have said, _I_ am originally your fiancé, so I am entitled to meeting the man who has rather rudely stolen you and your heart away from me."

"I will not and I will never allow you to – "

"Tomorrow, before the 15hour of the Dragon, Sadaijin no Tsukiko." Kenjiro was having none of it. "I will meet him, or I will be forced to send him a challenge to force him to show himself to me. Surely he would not turn down a challenge?"

Tsukiko was dumbfounded, but that was being quickly overcome by her wrath. "I told you that I am not allowing you to meddle with my affairs, Matsumoto no Kenjiro. Do you really wish to make an enemy of me?"

He was remorseless, and she could see that written on every line of his handsome features. "I don't think he will appreciate the fact that you are trying to protect him, Tsukiko. As a man, I knew he would show himself to me. He would have to, if he wants to prove that he is a man after all."

As Tsukiko stared at him with pursed lips and a displeased expression not enough to mar her beautiful features, Kenjiro clenched his fists.

He will find out who that man is and settle things with him once and for all.

* * *

Needless to say, it had not been a particularly good meeting.

Taichi had accepted the offer of a meeting with one of the highest-ranking officials thousands of years back in the Heian-Jidai for two specific reasons: amusement and curiosity. Amusement, because he didn't know whether the man was just looking for a chance of revenge when they had finally met, as he was very much aware of Sadaijin no Tsukiko's rank in their society. He had honestly wondered why Tsukiko hadn't bothered hiding the fact that she had been engaged with a man from another aristocratic clan from him – he knew from the beginning, because Tsukiko, aside from hailing from a well-known clan (one could say that they were like celebrities at the time,) was also well-known for the intelligence and beauty she possessed. He knew that she was unlike what men had usually had expected from the women of their time – a woman who was expected to stay at home and look beautiful. It hadn't taken him too long to realize that she was not like that. A lady of the clan who knew and was an expert at wielding certain weapons? No, she was not one to be tied down and act as one would expect of a mistress, an _ojousama_ , of her time.

Which led to the second reason: curiosity. He also wanted to know the kind of man who would dare to bind Tsukiko to his side, and threatened to send a challenge to him if he refuses to accept the invitation to meet. It was not in his nature to be provoked easily, especially if one had lived already for hundreds of years. He was someone who would not immediately stoop low and give in to someone else's demands, especially if that someone was a mortal.

But the desire to meet his mortal rival, (until now it would make him scoff unbelievably at the thought of someone like him having a mortal as a rival – no offense to mortal men out there, but really?) had also been there from the beginning. He was, of course, naturally curious to meet the kind of people Tsukiko interacted with from time to time. And this mortal man was one of them, whether he wanted him to be a part of those people Tsukiko interacted with or not.

It was more like a 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer' case for him.

That meeting had ended to them drawing swords and engaging in what they call 'sparring' nowadays, but with real, sharp swords. He knew Matsumoto no Kenjiro had been dying to test his sword-drawing skills. Unfortunately, it had not been enough. Once the fight had been over, (Kenjiro had held his own over him and even he had been impressed at his skill admittedly) one of the Heian-Jidai's most well-known officials had found himself at sword point for the first time in his entire life and from an unknown, normal man – to them, at least – no less.

This, of course, resulted to ridicule. Humans have always been cruel like that.

Which had forced Kenjiro to start acting irrationally and having him investigated, and he had kept at it laboriously and slaved away for countless days and months, until he had unearthed the truth about Taichi's real identity. The last straw had been Tsukiko calling their engagement off herself, and he then decided to expose the truth to the people of their time out of his jealousy and spite toward the man who had, as he had put it before, stolen the woman he had loved his entire life. This has resulted to them targeting him in a demon hunt and attempting to burn him alive, because even then, humans were known to fear something they would and could not understand.

As Taichi found himself looking at Tsukiko's doppelganger, he couldn't help but once more think that Fate was too sly, sarcastic, and had an incredible dark sense of humour. If Ayase Chihaya was Saidaijin no Tsukiko in her past life, then this silver-haired man who stood beside her was no doubt Matsumoto no Kenjiro reincarnated in her time.

Arata had been the one to convince him to go back to the hospital and carry out his duty as a doctor in every possible way after hearing his story. He had reminded him, in a stern and disapproving tone, the oath he had taken and sworn to years ago when he was new to the medical field. Arata had known what he was thinking, had seen it written on every line of his face, and had deduced outright that he was not planning to continue on being her doctor, even if he was planning to go back to the hospital.

 _She needs you, Taichi. You've saved her life. You've begun to weave the red threads of destiny upon you two. You of all divinities, should understand that you can_ never _untie them again. Even if she looks like Sadaijin no Tsukiko, you cannot turn your back on her just because she reminds you of her. That would be terribly… unprofessional of you._

He hadn't wanted to go back to her, dammit. It was as if his feeling and first thought of avoiding her had been a premonition of the things he will discover once he goes back to Todai.

Having realized this, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It was too much of a coincidence to even consider the possibility of them existing in this era an accident. As a god, they can sense far off into the future if something big, something life altering, will happen to them or to anyone related to them, if Fate was planning to throw them into ridiculous situations that might change the world or alter an individual's life.

Something told him that he was 'it' once more in her game, something that Lady Fate had forced him to be thousands of years before when he was thrown out into the human realm.

Why was this happening to him? _Why me, Fate? What the hell did I do to you?_

Taichi forced himself to be back into reality, looking the silver-haired man straight in the eye unflinchingly, even when every possible cell in his body was vibrating with warning… and anger. How he wanted to blast this man into shreds right now. He had been the reason why Tsukiko had been forced to try to attempt to protect him by admitting of her feelings for him, and why the people of their time thought she was cursed and decided to turn on her and kill her first.

But as with Ayase Chihaya, he had to remind himself that this man was not Matsumoto no Kenjiro, but his own person. No matter how he looked alike with the man who had been the catalyst of the tragic events in his past life, he knew that he should not treat them as the same person.

Still, knowing what he should do and liking it are two different things. He would have to look at them in a professional way, nothing more, nothing less.

"How have you been feeling, Ayase-san?" He asked in an even and professional tone, which sounded, strangely to her, stiff and cold. He looked over her medical chart in between glances to her, studiously ignoring Akito, she noticed.

"I am… stiff and… more better Doc. I cannot thank you enough for saving me even when you were supposed to be on your off." Chihaya looked at him, wondering why his gaze will not focus on her. Is he… is he trying to avoid gazing at her for a long time or something?

At this he looked up from her medical chart with an obviously-embarrassed expression on his symmetrical features, and with a jolt which reverberated from her head all the way down to the tips of her toes, she realized that she had seen those features somewhere and was _freakishly_ familiar to it. _But where? And how? Jesus, why does he look so familiar to me?_

"Nurse Takano," he turned to the nurse behind him who already had her right hand up and was flashing him a peace sign. "You told them?"

His voice… it sent chills and shivers down her spine. She had heard that baritone voice somewhere. A long time ago. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

Chihaya was so sure that they had met before. But where? And again, how? She was feeling a sense of déjà vu or something already.

"Sorry, Doc. I had to tell them so that they will also understand a few… things." Taichi didn't miss the way she had looked straight at the silver-haired man who snorted quietly and the nurse turned to the other side to roll her eyes.

"Well." He cleared his throat. "That's embarrassing. But you didn't have to thank me, Ayase-san. As I've said earlier, it's our job as doctors to save people's lives to the best of our abilities."

Chihaya opened her mouth respond, but Akito beat her into it. "Sweet-talking her huh?"

He was forced to turn to the silver-haired idiot who had run his mouth, returning his annoyed stare unflinchingly with an eyebrow raised. "Who are you? Are you a part of her family?"

"Sudo Akito. Not _yet_ a part of the family, but I will be soon. I'm her guardian for the time being." Akito responded in a straight tone – Taichi did not miss the way he had placed an emphasis on the word 'yet' – making Chihaya redden, in spite of herself. Taichi looked down at her left hand to see if there was a ring or any signs that she had worn one.

But there was none, not even a ring line, much to his relief… and consternation.

"Really? So _Sudo-san,_ I guess I cannot speak to you more about my findings on her then." Taichi said in a hard tone, and the women immediately felt, and dreaded, the sparks forming around the two.

Obviously, the silver-haired man did not appreciate that. "What the hell are you trying to do you – "

"Akito." Chihaya glared at him with disapproval in her tone and Taichi flinched, in spite of himself. That expression right there was more like Tsukiko. "Are you trying to start a fight or something? What he was saying was logical."

"You were the one who wanted me here instead of your parents, Chihaya." Akito shot her a glare as well. "I think it will be my right to hear what your condition is all about and what we need to do with it, or do you just want me to contact your parents if it makes you uncomfortable that I'm here?"

As he and Chihaya stared each other down in a glaring match, Taichi sighed internally. It wasn't any of his business, but he knew he couldn't stand being in the same room longer with two ghosts from his past who didn't seem to be aware that there is an audience watching the two of them closely.

He cleared his throat. "If you aren't done yet, should I come back another time? Preferably when there's someone from the immediate family?" He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, but it did filter through a bit as he watched the two visibly compose themselves, Tsu- Ayase Chihaya's head swinging around to his direction as she finally decided to break from the glaring match with Sudo Akito.

"I would like to hear whatever you want to tell me, Doc, since it seems that you are in such a hurry to get out of this room." Chihaya fixed him an intense stare in a stern tone, annoyance written on every line of her beautiful features. If it was directed to him or to the silver-haired man beside her, he didn't know. He had to ignore the sudden, idiotic tug on his heartstrings, seeing the same, exact expression on Tsukiko's face when he had first met her.

He shook his head mentally, and decided to bite the bullet. "I do seem to be in a hurry, but that was because I need to do my rounds. I came here first seeing as I haven't seen you since I did the surgery on you and that was just improper, even for me." He added, matching her tone but never letting his expression change.

She visibly recoiled as if he had just slapped her on the forehead, and Akito raised an eyebrow at the tone he had taken. "This rascal…" The guy mumbled in an annoyed tone, obviously referring to him.

Taichi mentally snorted. He was _far_ from being a rascal. Heck, he was older than him. Than them. A lot older than they would be willing to believe. _If the idiot can only remember…_

Seeing Chihaya's expression made him sigh internally once more, and all of a sudden a bright, charming but aloof smile curved the edges of his lips. "Now that you guys seemed to have calmed down, shall we talk?" He said all in a polite tone, as if nothing different had happened earlier.

Chihaya couldn't understand why but she knew that she hated that smile, even if it made him look all the more handsome. It made him look cold and… unapproachable, as if he had just drawn a line between the two of them, not allowing anyone, _her_ , to approach him.

She had the feeling that he had done it on purpose.

Shaking these thoughts away, she schooled her expression into a more polite one as she sighed. "Okay. Let's talk."

* * *

"You've had several broken ribs, pneumothorax, subdural hematoma, aortic dissection." Taichi listed off the findings he had to Chihaya a few minutes later, after asking the nurse to get the film for the x-ray for him to show it to the two of them. Though he would have preferred to talk in his office, he didn't want to push Ayase Chihaya to get into the wheelchair just yet, seeing as she had broken a few of her ribs already. The result was having him explain things inside her room instead, which he didn't mind at all. The less time spent with them, the better. "Your ribs are… well, I'm sure they're mending wonderfully. Just refrain from moving a lot, of course, and from laughing. They're going to hurt, and I'm sure you don't want pain."

Chihaya had grimaced at the findings he had listed – the way he had said it almost sounded like she should not have been alive now – but at the same time she also had to restrain herself from cracking a smile. _Remember, he's dealing with you professionally. Nothing more, nothing less._ The thought saddened her inexplicably, but she decided to squash it down and just nod at him, showing she was listening as Akito sat down beside her, his arm around her shoulders, rubbing in circles. She saw the doctor's eyes narrow at that gesture earlier, but she dismissed it as something she had just imagined.

"Pneumothorax – your right lung had collapsed, making it difficult for you to breathe before. That was due to your rib fractures, though I was able to remove the excess air. I had to place you to have oxygen intake machines, just in case. The subdural hematoma," he pointed at the base of the skull in the CT scan he had been showing them, "is a blood clot which had formed between your skull and brain which could have been the first reason to kill you – had been removed, but it is something I need to watch closely now." Here he fixed her a serious gaze, almost making the blood rush to her cheeks. The way he stared at her made butterflies flutter around in her stomach, and she had to berate herself to stop acting like an idiot and a teenager. "The reason why I had to have you watched closely in the past few days was because I was watching out for complications. This is a head surgery after all. Though it's good that you haven't shown any complications during the past forty-eight hours and they didn't have to call another surgeon to take over, there _might_ be delayed reactions which I will be monitoring for now."

"So she couldn't go home yet?" Akito asked, forgetting to be sarcastic towards him and glancing at Chihaya worriedly.

Taichi turned away, ignoring the twinge he felt somewhere in his chest. "If she wants to go home already I won't stop her. But I would suggest to remain here at least for two more days for me to be better able to monitor her condition."

"You sure can be paranoid, Doc." Akito commented, watching him closely. He couldn't place it correctly, but he was _sure_ that he had seen this guy somewhere. There was a strange feeling of familiarity he was already having since earlier.

"I have to be, if I want to save people." He responded in an almost uncaring way. "I never leave anything to chance."

Akito almost rolled his eyes. "Show-off." He muttered under his breath, but which Chihaya had still heard that she elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince.

"What do you want to do?" Taichi turned to Ayase Chihaya, who glanced up to him once more.

She shrugged her shoulders, looking resigned. "I guess I'm going to have to stay. When you put it like that, it sounds like something I should not take lightly. There was also something else you haven't mentioned yet, which is probably the most dangerous thing I've had."

Taichi nodded. "Aortic dissection. A rupture in the aorta – your heart. This is something the x-ray we've taken before hadn't shown, and I had to do bypass on you."

"They said you suspected it." Chihaya stared at him unflinchingly, trying not to let herself get distracted by those eyes. _Dammit._ She thought, almost in a displeased way.

"Well, with your ribs fractured which are the ones too close to the heart, I had to suspect so." He said in a no-nonsense tone, trying to downplay what seemed to them as an achievement and something incredible. "You were lucky I was able to do something about it in time, but it could have easily taken you away from your family."

"I don't think that is something which is just 'luck'. I don't have that most of the time." Chihaya said, determined to make him feel that she had appreciated his efforts. Even if he was strictly being a cold professional with his attitude towards her, there was no denying the fact that she owed him her life. "I don't know how I can ever repay you, Doc."

"Chihaya…" Akito muttered, rubbing her shoulder. Chihaya blinked away the tears which had formed in her eyes.

Taichi ignored the impulse to take her in his arms and comfort her. His fists curled in an attempt to regain control over his instincts, which were slowly beginning to take over his mind. She is not Tsukiko dammit! "I did tell you earlier that being a doctor meant saving lives – I was simply doing my duty, Ayase-san." He didn't need to mention that he went a little too far when he tried to save her and was punished for it. Painfully, might he add. "Though if it really bothers you too much, you can just repay me by doing your best to heal faster. And that means no strenuous exercises, no jumping around or something, and resting. Just so you can heal properly and I don't have to keep you here longer than I should, seeing as I know that you want to be home soon as well." This he added in a gentle tone, inwardly cursing himself. He really couldn't stand being too cold to a woman, much less to the woman who looked as if she had sprung from the Heian-Jidai.

Chihaya forced herself to not laugh, and instead chuckled, wiping the tears away from her eyes. If she were to be honest with herself, she wanted to stay longer here. She couldn't explain why but in the short while she had known him, she felt so drawn to him. Almost like… they had a connection in the past. She wanted to stay here to figure out what that _is_ , exactly.

"Well, that's it, for now. Just make sure to keep her diet balanced – liquid intake since she hadn't eaten anything for days, then you can slowly increase it." He turned to the acting guardian, feeling the air tense once more.

"I am quite aware of that, Doc." Akito really couldn't explain why he felt almost hostile towards this man. Maybe they were enemies or something in the past life? Geez, what was he thinking, he never really believed in reincarnation and those mythical beliefs or something…

"I had to make sure you can look after Ayase-san properly. You were the… acting guardian after all."

Akito's eyes narrowed into slits. "Why this brat…."

Taichi ignored his remark, not wanting to waste his breath talking with him. "I have to do the rest of my rounds, Ayase-san so I'll leave you in… his capable hands. Do rest and please eat properly. I'll be going back to check on you once in a while, before I sign the papers for you to be discharged."

It wasn't exactly a lie, but if he goes back to check on her it will be more on him checking on her for a few minutes – preferably when she was asleep or unconscious – then leave. After this, he wasn't going to get himself involved with her again.

Chihaya nodded, but her heart was pounding it almost hurt, making her worried if it was possible to have another aortic dissection due to it. She can see the expression on his face – closed off and looking as if this was the last time they're going to meet. _Why does it feel as if he wants to avoid me? Did I do something wrong to him, after all? Do we know each other or something?_

She forced herself to bow as he began turning away from her, but he turned to face her once more to return it. Then with a smooth whirl of his white coat behind him, he had already stridden towards the doors, with the nurse in tow.

Chihaya felt confused as he watched his retreating back, wondering if the pain in her chest had something to do with the aortic something she just had or if it was due to a different reason after all.

* * *

She whiled the day away with Akito. It was probably good that she liked Akito enough to want to spend time with him, because if there was one good thing she cherished between them, it was their rock-solid friendship. She was probably being selfish wanting him to remain as her friend despite of her having to reject him for not having feelings for him on the romantic side, but what could she do? They have been friends long enough for her to even consider ending their friendship just because she couldn't return his feelings.

Akito had insisted that he will be fine, that he just needed time to move on, but she had often wondered silently if staying as friends will just make it harder for him to move on.

Her family had visited. Both her parents were crying tears of happiness upon seeing she was alright, and Akito helped her in explaining the gist of the findings to them, both of them agreeing that what had happened to her was enough to give the unsuspecting elders a heart attack. Chitose, however, knew differently, Chihaya seeing her mouthing 'we'll talk later' to her. She groaned mentally – of course she couldn't fool her elder sister – despite of being haughty most of the time and just caring about her looks as a model, Chitose knew her enough to be able to tell when she was hiding something from them or not.

Which, most of the time, had only something to do with her not wanting to stress their parents out.

"I hope you didn't tell the doctor earlier that you were planning to become _my_ family in the future because you're still thinking of marrying me." Chihaya looked at him as Akito paused from checking his cards as they played poker, glancing at her with warm brown eyes which tinged with slight pain.

"Do you think feelings can disappear with just the wave of a hand, Ayase Chihaya? If someone tells me that it could be erased with just that but in exchange I have to jump off the cliff to show my belief, believe me, I would have done it. Of course I still am crazy about you and wanted to marry you in the future." The silver-haired man grunted in response, returning his gaze to the cards he held, making an effort to sound nonchalant.

Chihaya raised her left hand and placed her fingers over the cards he held that he was forced to look at her once more. "But Akito…"

"Chihaya, seriously, we've talked about this before." Akito said, almost sounding annoyed and impatient, placing his cards face down to hold the left hand which rested before in front of the cards, laying a kiss on the back of it. "I know that you… well, still look at me as a friend or a brother or something, but my heart is stubbornly set on you, you crazy woman. Unless I give it time, I won't be able to properly move on from you. And ending our friendship is not the solution to that. We'll suffer… both of us. And you know it."

Chihaya raised the hand he was holding once more to cup his right cheek in her hand. "But I feel that I am being unfair. To you and to the person destined to be with you. By keeping you beside me I feel like you will never find your happiness, Akito. I don't want that to – "

Akito cut her off by standing up and taking her in a sweet embrace. "Chihaya. You know that my answer to that will always be the same. I am happy just staying beside you. Even if you can't look at me romantically, you're letting me take care of you. And nothing makes me happier but being able to look after you." He released her so he can look her straight in the eye. "Our friendship takes precedence above my feelings. So just let me be like this, okay?"

She had no choice but to nod. "Okay."

Akito's lips formed into a small, genuine smile and he leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead. As soon as he did so, he leaned back and regarded her with such warmth in his eyes that she almost melted. Akito didn't always act this sweet towards her, but when he does, it was guaranteed to make her nervous and embarrassed. Sudo Akito is an intense man, and all of the daily focus he had placed on work was now directed towards her. The thought was making her blush and shy around him, dammit.

She knew that she was attracted to him, but she just knew that it wasn't love just yet. Due to this, she always made sure to be clear to him that they were still friends, first and foremost.

As silence rose and made a throne between the two of them, Akito felt himself being drawn closer to her feminine magnetism as they regarded each other quietly. His head lowered towards her, almost unconsciously, gaze intent on her full, heart-shaped lips.

Chihaya could do nothing but close her eyes. She should be stopping whatever it was that was happening between the two of them, but she didn't know why in seven hells she couldn't even do so. She could almost his feel his breath on her lips, and her spine tingled with anticipation, in spite of herself.

But then she felt his lips press on her right cheek, and he sighed, almost resignedly after as her auburn eyes automatically opened, gazing at him almost wonderingly. "I want to kiss you, Chihaya. Heaven knows I do. But…" here he leaned his forehead against hers, "… I want to hear you tell me yes before I claim… what is mine." He mumbled the last part uncharacteristically, still looking her in the eyes.

Chihaya felt the blood cover her cheeks and she couldn't do anything to stop it. "Stop teasing me, senpai."

Akito then leaned back, taking one of her hands once more in his and rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "I'm not teasing, Chihaya. I never do." He then let go and ruffled her hair. "I think its time for us to sleep. Its getting late."

She didn't protest, almost hiding herself under the covers as he helped place the blanket over her properly. "Oyasumi, Chihaya."

She nodded her head, still blushing, in spite of herself. "Oyasumi, Akito."

Akito patted her shoulder, and she heard his footsteps walking toward the couch. Once she felt that he had settled, she opened one eye to peek at his form – which was, thankfully, turned away from her, facing the wall. She wanted to convince him to go home, that couch couldn't be comfortable, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to pry him away from it even if she tried. She smiled, in spite of herself, and mouthed thank you at his sleeping form.

Chihaya thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, but soon after, she found herself sinking into a dream.

Which didn't feel at all like a dream. It was too vivid, she knew if she woke up she would be able to describe it as clear as day. The only reason she could tell it was a dream was because of the forest which surrounded her, and she isn't exactly the type of person who will wander in the forest because it was easy to get lost for her. She isn't exactly an expert when it comes to reading and looking for stuff like trails.

She was sitting on a fallen log, gazing up to the canopy of leaves above her. The air felt cool and fresh against her face. She closed her eyes, relishing it all as she appreciated the beauty of nature once more.

Chihaya didn't understand why she was sitting there, but she relished the feeling nonetheless. If this was just a dream, she will allow herself to live in it. Rather, it felt like she was waiting for something…

…Or someone.

How long she had sat there, she didn't know. But then all of a sudden the wind started to swirl around her, lifting tendrils of her hair around her, but she found herself smiling, instead of being confused and scared like she had expected herself to be. She can see the leaves at her feet beginning to lift themselves up and swirl around her in a whirlwind of green and brown colors.

Seconds later she suddenly felt someone drape a thick fur coat over her shoulders, and her pulse skyrocketed upon seeing the claws which accompanied the hand. She expected herself to scream, but she did the unexpected: she smiled, as his fingers rubbed her shoulders even through the coat.

 _Wait. Why does this hand look familiar to me?_

Without turning around to see who the newcomer is, she let amusement cover her voice. "Tetsuro-sama." She greeted in a very feminine voice which she was sure wasn't hers at ALL.

 _Tetsuro-sama?_ She asked herself, feeling more confused as the seconds ticked by. This was a bizarre dream to have. _Who's Tetsuro-sama?_ _And wait, -sama?_

"You shouldn't be out in public, dressed like that, ojousama." A baritone voice responded to her greeting, which made a jolt run once more from her head to the tips of her toes. "It's almost winter. You'll catch a cold, dressed so lightly like that."

 _That voice again._ She thought, now getting more confused and almost alarmed. _It sounds familiar! But where did I hear it? Come on, Chihaya, you couldn't possibly be too much of an idiot to not remember it…_

His response made her look down on what she was wearing though. She then only realized that she was wearing a multi-layered junihitoe once more, but this time with blue being the main color. The topmost kimono was of a dark midnight blue color, woven with patterns of stars over it. She smiled, despite feeling confused. She was still a woman who knew how to appreciate clothes after all.

 _Wait, this is not the time to admire it…_

"This is a junihitoe, Tetsuro-sama. How can I possibly be cold with this…"

She heard footsteps as he finally approached her, but she didn't remove her gaze from the canopy of leaves above her. Chihaya felt frustrated. _Why isn't she looking at him?_ For some reason though, she felt that she had understood. It only meant that such is her trust to her male companion, which is why she could afford not to look at him at all. She knew she was safe.

"Regardless, I do not want you catching your death in here. Your father will have me hanged." He sat down beside her, and she rolled her eyes, despite of the tingle which she felt down her spine at the small distance between them.

"He hasn't even met you yet; how can he possibly have you hanged?" She pointed out in a half-amused, half-disbelieving tone. "And I doubt he will be able to have you hanged in the first place; the ability you possess will have him fulfill his dream of being able to fly – if he will not be thrown backwards first."

 _Ability? This man… does he have a power of sorts? Is he…_

… _A mythical being? That would explain the claws…_

She couldn't understand what was happening, but she understood that she and him… these two people… had a relationship of sorts. What exactly that relationship was, she was still guessing. But she could tell… that she loved him.

The woman loved him, that was what she meant.

"I don't think we should continue meeting like this, Tsukiko."

 _Tsukiko... that's her name? Wow. I don't understand_ (she was beginning to be tired saying this, but what could she do? she was in a _very_ confusing dream), _but it suits her. Hey that name also sounds familiar._

"Have I caused you trouble, after all?" She asked worriedly, her voice like that of a gracefully ringing bell that she allowed herself to listen to it.

"No, but you shouldn't go out alone like this. It is becoming dangerous at this part of the forest." He responded with a hint of disapproval in his tone. He took her right hand in his, which almost made her jump out of her skin at the electrifying sensation it had brought. "I will come to you the next time we meet. At least you didn't have to be out and about alone like this, waiting for me."

"But where and how, Tetsuro-sama…?"

He smiled, as she looked at him. To her disappointment the sun chose to shine through the canopy of leaves that they were under at that very moment, and he was bathed in sunlight. She was forced to cover her eyes unable to look at him directly, as he finally reached for her, taking her in a strong embrace which she was familiar to, despite having no explanation why.

She sank into him almost gratefully, and she felt his lips press against her forehead. "Leave that to me. For now, let us just indulge in the moment."

A few seconds of silence passed between them, then suddenly he spoke:

" _I love you, Chihaya."_

That made her snap her eyes open, and she felt almost disoriented, her position bathed in darkness. She then realized that she was still in the hospital, and that Akito must have woken up in the middle of the night and had probably turned the lights off from her position so that she wouldn't hurt her eyes when she suddenly wakes up. She sent him a silent smile of gratitude, seeing him now facing her and sleeping peacefully as she fell back on her pillow once more, her head beginning to spin with questions.

 _What… what is that dream?_

 _Did he just call me Chihaya?_

But she found herself unable to answer the last question.

 _Who is 'Tetsuro-sama'?_

* * *

Somewhere miles away, in the privacy of his own home, Taichi sat uncaringly at the railing of his balcony overlooking the busy streets of Bunkyo, one leg lifted on the cold steel bar, the other hanging perilously at the other side as he watched cars and people alike come and go, go in and leave, visit and travel, leaning on the wall observing and watching some of the city and store lights dim to a close, some coming to life. It was something that he had developed as a habit when he came to live in the human world, watching the cycle of life and days repeat themselves. It took him some time though, to learn the lesson that again, change is the only permanent thing in this world.

His right-hand sought the necklace under his white shirt, and he lifted the chain from around his neck, finally revealing the pendant he was looking for: a ring made of pure jade. He lifted it up, letting it bathe in the lights of his balcony, the gem twinkling merrily at him as his fingers traced the kanji name written and engraved inside it.

 _Tetsuro._

He found himself smiling almost bitterly as he dropped the necklace back inside his shirt.

 _I wonder if that name ever suited me. What do you think, Tsukiko?_

* * *

15 The _hour of the Dragon - in the old days people used to tell time by using zodiac signs. The hour of the Dragon is from 7AM to 9AM._

* * *

 _ **So** **there. Honestly I don't think I like this chapter too much, but more and more things are coming to light. I hope you stay with me as things get revealed in its time.**_

 _ **What do you think of the interaction between Taichi and Chihaya? Personally I'm not that happy with his attitude towards her, but I can understand, to an extent. I hope he doesn't act too much of an idiot though.**_

 _ **Raijin… honestly, I'm still thinking of who Raijin should be. Any ideas as to who should it be? PM me. I'm open to suggestions. The one who gets chosen for the suggestion will have the next chapter dedicated to them as my gratitude. Hahaha.**_

 _ **From here on there will be irregular updates (as if it hadn't happened already dammit). Please bear with me as I try to balance life, work and writing. Love you guys. Thank you for reading.**_

 _ **Loyu-chan… whatever it is, know that I will be here for you, if I am not always present in this fandom. Take care and love lots, sis. :)**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**Hello, hello.**_

 _ **Okay, don't kill me just yet. Yes I understand I took so long. Well, between work and the crappy writer's block, I could barely write. And I'm so sorry it took me months. Work is one thing, but trying to overcome a writer's block is another.**_

 _ **Anyway, this is the long-awaited sixth chapter in this fic. Thank you, by the way, to LovelyPolkaDots for letting me know what you think. I don't think there is still too many terms that I need to explain, but rest assured I have noted your comment. I hope you make sense of my fic in the future. And thank you, to those lovely people (you know who you are of course,) who left reviews for the last chapter. Yes of course, I'll try to continue writing about these two, though it may take me longer than usual to finish a chapter, since again, I already mentioned the reason.**_

 _ **Hope you like this latest instalment though.**_

 _ **Chihayafuru is all Suetsugu-sensei's.**_

* * *

 **VI**

* * *

There were too many voices. Too many sounds around him all at once. It felt like it was coming from a low-quality recorder; all of which only serving to make certain parts of his body throb in pain and discomfort. It seriously felt like he was being doused repeatedly with hot water, then cold water, then hot water again, a sensation that he never wished upon anyone; not even his enemies, as it was enough to knock the consciousness out of anyone.

And then all of a sudden it felt like there was someone who had taken pity on him finally, deciding to turn the volume of the sounds around him upwards, as if a radio with bad reception being fixed.

"No! Let him go!"

 _Too noisy…_

"We cannot accept this! You have been bewitched, Tsukiko-sama! We demand that you hand him over to us and we will administer punishment!"

 _Stop yelling at her…_

"I am not bewitched; I am in full possession of my mind! He is not what you think he is! Everyone please calm down and we will talk about this in a calmly manner as we should!"

"You are consorting with a demon! How can you, as the Lady of the Sadaijin House, commit such blasphemy!? _You_ , of all people!"

 _A demon. That isn't exactly far from the truth._

"How has this happened to you milady!? She has been cursed! God please help us! How can she be cursed?"

Her tone had hardened. "A demon, you say? You have no idea what you were talking about and had no proof at all, and yet the townspeople of this area had such nerve to storm into my home and throw accusations based on hearsay so lightly!"

"If you will not let this man go then we will have you arrested! You are not in your right mind; you have clearly been bewitched! We will not stand for such a crime! Bring her!"

It was a blur of light, sound and sensation. He felt like he was watching from the outside, detached from everything; like he was watching a period drama. All the noises were being blended together like a bad record being flashed into a super fast-forward motion.

There was pain. Lots of it. This had always been clearly etched in his mind, as if it had been imprinted into the tissues of his brain. He supposed that it was probably due to it being the sharpest sensation his mind can recall.

"Stay with me, Tetsuro-sama, please…" She had implored in a sweet tone that he had always loved about her. His memory of the place and time was blurry, but this memory was probably when they had been thrown together in jail already.

He knew she was speaking to him, but he was delirious, having lost a lot of blood. He had to give it to Matsumoto, the snake. He had investigated him thoroughly, and they began the demon hunt on the night of a full moon, knowing and being very well aware that he was at his weakest. If there was a chance to kill him, now would be the perfect moment.

"I love you… anata… please, open your eyes for me…"

It was the first time she told him she loved him, ever since the day he had met her. He could feel the tear drops landing in a wet path on his cheeks, joining with the blood gushing from the left side of his head, which in turn joined with the blood from the wound of his shoulder as she cradled him on her lap, half-conscious and unconscious.

And everything flashed forward again.

They were trapped in a cliff. How they had gotten there, he can only remember as them having tried to escape. They were trapped with nowhere to go but perhaps fall into their deaths to the seemingly unending abyss below.

He could smell the thirst for blood in the air, being the only one who can see the thick haze which surrounded the village folk who were carrying torches, blocking any path from escaping. It was enough to turn his stomach over, making him want to double over and empty the contents of his stomach… if there was even any.

He was glad for Tsukiko. She was human, she couldn't feel it, much less see it.

This isn't the first time he was sensing such a thing, having had to deal with a few wars and whatnot and sending Khan's army to their deaths couldn't mean having a clean aura when he had decided to own up to the task of protecting Japan back then, but this – it was an entirely different level of blood lust.

They want to kill, and they hunger for it.

Just as he was about to be hit by an arrow, there was a blur of sound, the rustling of a kimono, before his nose was filled with her sweet scent. Her long, chestnut hair cascaded into a silky curtain around him, as she embraced him tight, never letting go.

Then he felt her tremble against him as the arrow which was supposed to hit him pierced her instead.

The delirium vanished. His heart pounded hard against his ribcage, and all the blood rushed into his head, feeling every cell in his body tremble in rage and disbelief.

How dare they… how dare they do it!?

Her hand had come up, as her tears fell, creating another glistening path on her cheeks. She could see the beginning of his transformation, could feel his power coming to life as a whirlwind began to form around them. A sad, but beautiful smile, nonetheless, formed on her lips.

"No, Tetsuro-sama. Please."

He was shaking his head before she could finish, but she laid her head on his chest.

"Don't. They do not know what they were doing. But I am happy… I am so happy to have met you and loved you in this life…"

His own tears were beginning to cloud his vision as he held her tight in his arms.

She tried to lift her head to look him in the eye once more, smiling as she saw him crying. "You told me you have never hurt humans; that you have sworn not to do it. Please do not break that oath on my account," she was crying hard now, her words were almost unintelligible, but he strained his ears to listen to her. "I am so happy… to be able to protect you in my own way… because you were the one who was always protecting me. A world without you… it is something I do not wish to live in. If I was given the chance to be reborn, know that I will love you again… even if I am reborn a thousand times, know that I will still choose you."

She was smiling beautifully, even if her cheeks are stained with her tears. She struggled to keep on talking, despite it being something he knew are already exhausting her and draining her even more. "However, I do not think I will be able to stay with you this time… forgive me, anata." Here she couldn't help but let a sob escape her lips. "I do not regret meeting you… but I regret that I will not be able to stay with you longer than I have sworn to you." She looked at him, almost pleadingly as traces of blood began to appear on her lips that he was forced to gently wipe them off of her. "But you… you can still live and be happy. Please, Tetsuro-sama. Live. For me, anata." He shook his head, the rage still clear on every line of his features, which were already beginning to twist into grief. He could already feel her life force fading… knew that he was powerless to stop it…

As the blood began to trickle from her lips, she slowly leaned forward, seeking him. He knew what she wanted and he allowed her to, lifting a hand to wipe the trickle of blood forming once more on her lips. "It is my only wish."

 _No… don't ask that of me, Tsukiko… I can't do it…_

"Live, anata…" With the last of her strength, she lifted her head a few more inches and pressed her lips against his in a sweet, gentle kiss. He met her halfway, as he inclined his head downward a few millimetres, willingly giving her the affection she so desired from him.

They stayed that way for a long time. He didn't truly know how long, only wishing that he could freeze time forever.

But she was only human, and soon her body had succumbed to the poison, and her head dropped, her grip on him finally loosening as her arms fell to her sides.

He barely heard his own voice as an inhuman scream echoed throughout the night.

"TSUKIKO!"

* * *

Taichi jolted upright on his bed, completely disoriented and unfocused. He tried to remember where he was, and what he was doing.

Oh yeah, he was _sleeping_ , in _his_ bedroom, having luckily finished his shift from Todai without any more emergencies which might result to straight double shifts.

He reached for the lamp beside his bed, grabbing the chain and switching it on. As the warm yellow light filled his room, he noticed how his hand was shaking and every nerve in his body seemed to be trembling, his blood pounding erratically in his ears. He placed a hand over his face, willing his heart to calm down from it's rapid beating, wiping the tears which had fallen throughout the night and had already created numerous wet paths away from his cheeks carelessly.

Minutes passed as he willed his heartbeat to return to normal, taking deep, calming breaths.

That dream again.

He was freaking used to it. Having lived as long as he did, one was bound to accumulate numerous, countless memories. As a result, he will mostly relive them as dreams… or most of the time, as nightmares.

So it wasn't truly the first time that he had relived the night Tsukiko died. It wasn't really a big deal now, seeing as he was so used to having such memories turned into nightmares that he had already accepted long ago that it will be his second nature, that it was a part of his being as an outcast, fallen god. Having to live the last thousand years with regrets and pain had almost, _almost_ , hardened him against nightmares, and he wasn't about to complain about it now.

He stood up shakily though, intending to get himself a glass of water to calm his nerves down, but his footing was still somewhat unstable that he staggered and totally lost it the next few seconds.

He was almost going to fall face first into the floor when he felt two slender arms wrap around his waist, and he felt the familiar presence of another being in the room.

"Fujin-sama."

He gazed back into a pair of golden orbs, which were wide with worry. He expected himself to freak out, having not commanded her to come out for the longest time, but he didn't, instead smiling affectionately to the raven-haired girl who held him in her arms.

"Fuumi-chan. I thought I told you not to come out except when I told you to."

She hissed angrily at him, dropping him back into his bed anyhow that he groaned aloud at what she did. "You _sealed_ me and hid me out for the last… century! I was restraining myself when you had gotten sick, but I cannot just sit back this time and do nothing." She was so mad, he could see her knuckles turning white from clenching her fist so hard.

"Is that any way to treat your master after not seeing him for _the last century?_ " He half-complained and half-joked as he sat up once more on his bed, but he was well aware that she didn't appreciate his poor attempt at humour and lightening the atmosphere.

"I don't even know if I should treat you properly as my master after commanding me to hide from the last century." She gritted out, not hiding her irritation from him.

"Fuumi-chan – "

"Please just call me, Sumire-chan, Fujin-sama. It has been a long time since I had last used Fuumi."

Taichi reached a hand out and grasped her hand which were still clenched tightly it was a wonder that her palm wasn't bleeding yet from her claws. He had to slowly uncurl her fingers so tightly wound around itself, smiling at her almost weakly. "Only if you call me Taichi instead, Sumire-chan."

Her heart broke at the sight. It was nothing like his smile from thousands of years ago, back when he was still living the carefree life of being the wind incarnate himself. It was a heart-breaking ghost of that smile which was guaranteed to lift the hearts and moods of everyone who were lucky enough to see it, back then.

She wrung her hand from his grip in the meantime. "I will get you your glass of water first, and then we can talk later about how I am supposed to address you now."

"Sumire-chan…"

"As your familiar, I am inclined to do such a simple task for you."

Before he could protest that he could do it himself, she had already whirled around, the beads which formed a crown around her head and ended with feathers framing her face swaying in the light breeze from the air conditioner. She strode from his room, not minding that she was dressed almost like a warrior from head to foot, that she was just missing her quiver of arrows or her sword strapped around her waist and her trusty shield.

Taichi had to smile. Fuumi – Sumire-chan had always cared for him like her own brother and had been an unerringly loyal companion to him, though once upon a time it had been a bit awkward for him to have her as a familiar, because her brotherly care and familial loyalty had gone _way_ beyond what one would expect from a familiar for her master.

It was a story that can be told another time, though.

He leaned forward and covered his face with both hands, feeling sick and a sudden powerful urge to vomit, despite of him being well enough during work earlier. He supposed it was due to the emotions which were still running high in him after the dream he had, his blood still pounding in his ears.

It was in this state that Sumire had found him in minutes later, and she couldn't help but be thankful that she had decided to brew him tea instead. As he lifted his head to look at her, she couldn't help but be alarmed that his features were almost too pale to look at, and the lines around his face seemed to be more pronounced than ever, looking older than his human age was supposed to let him be, as if his real age has finally been showing.

"I made you chamomile tea instead." She said, sinking onto her knees and offering the cup of tea to him. "I know you prefer oolong, but I think this would help you calm down better."

His lips stretched into a small smile. "I have always missed your teas, Sumire-chan."

"If you hadn't forced me into a seal I would have made you this often."

Taichi took the cup from her, expression turning dour and more than serious than he would have liked it to be. "You would have massacred an entire village if I hadn't, as you claim, _sealed_ you."

She could feel her temper flaring up. "They have tried to burn you alive! Was I supposed to do nothing as they harm my master? How dare _I_ call myself as your familiar if I had let that happen!?"

Taichi's expression turned an even darker degree and dare she say it – more annoyed than what was usual. "I do not want you soiling your hands with human blood, Sumire-chan. Understand that much. If I had allowed you to use your powers and decimate the mortal population, do you think I would be able to face your mother who has left you in my care?" Taichi allowed himself to snap at her, making her stand up in her annoyance as she fixed him a deathly glare.

Normally, such disrespect was not allowed from a mere familiar. It would have earned her no less than his ire and wrath, a thunderbolt or two or maybe even a possible unplanned refreshing trip to the underworld as punishment, but Taichi has always been an unusual and unique master in that he had always treated his familiars as equals, even _friends_. As such, he had given them the freedom to speak their minds freely and without hesitation, even if that means they would have to knock sense into their master's heads in an impudent and rude manner that would earn them no less than a few raised eyebrows and horrified, offended and disbelieving response from deities and high-ranking demons alike.

"I know that my mother asked you to take care of me, but you've also made me your familiar, which meant I am honor-bound to protect you with my life, even if it means I would have to soil my hands with blood!" She was beyond frustrated, he could already tell. "Am I supposed to bear the shame of being protected by my master when it was supposed to be the other way around? Tell me, how am I supposed to live with the shame of being locked away for centuries just because my master does not want me to _kill_?"

She had been forced to stop as she felt a cold, harsh breeze surround the room, making her watch in a sort of sadistic satisfaction in knowing that she had succeeded to get a reaction out of the wind deity – his eyes already glowing, changing colours from warm amber to sharp, icy, eton blue.

His gaze on her remained though, the glare and the reprimand in them unchanging as he expressed his displeasure at their argument physically. Sumire crossed her arms, lips pursed, equally unfazed as well.

Taichi stood up as well, fixing her an infamous death glare, this being one of the very rare times he decided not to be indulgent towards his familiar and actually show them his irritation and rightful authority. "I _will_ not have you talking to me like that."

"You were the one who had all but given us the permission to talk back to you freely – "

Before she could finish her sentence, Taichi lifted a hand and waved it almost uncaringly towards her, and that little band of wind that he had used on Arata solidified and latched onto her mouth itself, forcing her to clamp it shut. She struggled to remove it with her hands, even though she knew her physical strength would be practically useless against it, not with him _this_ pissed off anyway.

"I will not have you talking like those very humans who, as you said, tried to burn me alive. You sound exactly like them, did you hear yourself?" He snarled unforgivingly, eyes so narrowed in barely-restrained rage, nearly disappearing into slits. "If you continue speaking like that, trust me, I _will_ seal you again, friendship and my promise to your mother be damned."

Sumire glared at him wordlessly, mouth still clamped shut. As much as she hated to admit it, she equally hated upsetting him in any way, perhaps even more so. As much as she wanted to get angry with him for trying to live among humans who had already betrayed him once and even tried to help them by becoming a doctor, she recognized the fact that he was living in pain in all these centuries past.

She also had to remind herself that the only woman he had fallen in love with is, actually, a _human_.

Perhaps she really had gone too far and had overstepped her boundaries this time.

Her ramrod posture relaxed and she leaned a bit backwards slightly, still staring at him straight in the eyes. He observed her movement, sharp, eton-blue eyes gauging her non-verbal response as he returned her stare unblinkingly and unflinchingly.

When he was sure of her acquiescence, (well more of a resignation, really,) he snapped his fingers and dissolved the wind gag (an inside joke Sumire had to herself,) quietly and looked away from her, willing himself to calm down and return his eyes to normal. He didn't want to accidentally snap at her and lose control and send her to some god-forsaken place, like the Antarctic or something as punishment. He sighed, feeling a migraine forming somewhere between his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She was the first one who broke the silence, which hung heavy and thick between them after the argument. "I overstepped my – "

"I've missed you, Sumire-chan." The visibly weakened wind deity cut her off like last time, only that at this moment he looked more pleading than angry, as if the brief argument had taken all the fight from him and he just wanted to have rest all of a sudden. "The reason I weakened the seal on you is because I wanted you to be free once more, thinking that you had managed to calm down after all these – these freaking years. I don't want to spend the first few minutes of us seeing each other again in person arguing with you."

His familiar stared at him, her honey-gold eyes darkening once more. "Do not force me not to care about you, Taichi-sama. That is my job. I wish you'd stop trying to protect me, when it should be the other way around."

"Sumire-chan – "

"Please, for once, let me do my job, _goshujin-sama_." She was highly frustrated, teeth mashing together in an attempt to keep calm and not needlessly provoke her master once more. "Please."

Taichi's expression morphed into something which was similar to hers – frustrated and disbelieving at her apparent stubbornness. But he was obviously exhausted – a nightmare-slash-memory having taken up most of his supposed rest, and he sighed, seeming to deflate all of a sudden. "You're lucky I'm tired. Otherwise I could scold you all night with your attitude."

"Just please drink the chamomile tea. It would help you gain proper sleep. If I must say, my dear master, you look like a walking corpse."

He made a face, features finally smoothing to a small smile, choosing to brush the comment she made which hit too close to home. "I don't have you to convince me to look after myself properly. What else can you expect?" But he bent and grabbed hold of the tea cup's handle, taking a long sniff of the tea and breathing it in deeply. Just the aroma was enough to calm most of his nerves – nerves which were stretched taut and pulled to its limits ever since his live encounter with Tsukiko's – and Matsumoto's modern doppelganger.

Great. Tsukiko and Kenjiro's modern century edition part 2, now showing.

"Well now, you have me again here, which means you're going to have to get used to someone lecturing you all the time and nagging you to look after yourself more properly." She raised a hand and from it came into existence a magazine she seemed to have gotten from his living room, though he had no idea why she had it.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Seeing his silent questioning look, she took one look at the clothes the woman was wearing on the cover and she glowed all of a sudden. As his eyes adjusted once more to their surroundings, he saw her clothes having changed similar to what the woman was wearing from the cover of the magazine – a simple white blouse with billowing sleeves and dark, simple jeans.

"If I am going to start bringing you back to normal, _goshujin-sama,_ I guess I'd better start looking normal – normal for this century at least."

"I told you not to call me that, you make me feel like one of those old men – "

"Oh that is just the start, my beloved master. You had better start getting used to it. Please rest, and once you wake up, _you_ are going to keep me in the loop for all which has happened lately to you."

Saying that, she sank into a graceful bow and left the room, leaving Taichi half-amused, half-frustrated once more.

"Sometimes I wonder who's the master here."

* * *

"Chihaya-chan? Uh… are you listening?"

Chihaya gave a start at the sound of her name being called. She was forced to tear her gaze from the door of her room, turning to glance once more at one of her dearest friends who was supposed to get married two months away, dark-brown eyes worried and trained at her, eyebrows raised. Finding her gaze on her, Chihaya looked down and reddened in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Kana-chan. I wasn't able to catch that." She said sheepishly, raising a hand and scratching her head.

Kanade, being the more mature woman between the two of them, just let out a sigh and leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can see that. You look completely disconnected from the present – you _look_ like you're waiting for someone to come in and your eyes look like they're going to become permanent slits with just how concentrated you're looking at the door right now."

Hearing her words made Chihaya redden even more in embarrassment. "Wha – Kana-chan I didn't look like that!"

Kanade laughed, greatly amused at the fact that her best friend was acting like she was caught doing something naughty by her mother. "Chill, Chi-chan. You didn't have to be that embarrassed with me," she was laughing, and her eyes held a mischievous sparkle. "it's not a crime to miss Akito-senpai. I'm sure you just want to see him again."

Chihaya looked so red that she was already wondering if she would be seeing steam coming out of her ears anytime soon at the mention of her almost-but-not-quite boyfriend who had temporarily gone home to rest at her request. "It – I wasn't – I'm not – oh gosh – I'm not waiting for him to be back, Kana-chan!"

Seeing her dear-caught-in-the-headlights expression had Kanade laughing out loud. "You didn't have to deny it that strongly, Chi-chan! I totally understand."

"Kana-chan, really - !"

"Oh alright, I'm sorry for teasing." Kanade relented, seeing how Chihaya looked like she just wanted to disappear or for the floor to just open up and swallow her whole. "I know you just came from an accident and all, but do forgive me for missing my best friend. I was so worried, you know." She held Chihaya's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

Chihaya laughed, almost awkwardly. "I understand, Kana-chan, and I'm really sorry for making you worry. How is Tsutomu-kun?"

Kanade leaned back and crossed her legs. "Poor guy nearly fainted when he had heard what had happened to you. He was more concerned than me, actually. He wanted to come today but he was asked to come to work instead for somethings they needed to discuss with him – Tsutomu nearly bit his senior's head off but I managed to calm him down before he loses his job." She snorted in laughter, though Chihaya looked more serious.

"I didn't mean to worry everyone, I'm so sorry."

Realizing that her best friend does not seem to share her humour, Kanade sighed as well. "You don't have to apologize for it, Chi-chan. It's nothing but normal, worrying about my best friend. I'm sure Akito-senpai made that point already to you."

She nodded with a slight flush on her cheeks. "I never intended to have the date of your wedding moved down, though."

The dark-haired woman just shrugged. "It's not something you have to worry about. I can't have my best friend missing the most important day in my life, you know, and I don't want her to be in the middle of recovery when it's happening."

Chihaya smiled, almost apologetically. "Thank you, Kana-chan. Now that it's come to this though, I suddenly feel that I am so pressured." At this, the other woman's eyebrow raised questioningly. "Pressured to become the best maid of honour that is." She then continued, cracking a smile.

Her best friend laughed. "Yes, you definitely should be."

The model sighed. "Thanks so much, Kana-chan." She opened her eyes later, the auburn orbs worried and flicking towards the direction of the door again, almost unconsciously.

She didn't notice the darker-haired woman's eyes on her, observant and calculating. Kanade crossed her arms, intent on pointing out that she was still really distracted and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. "Okay, what's going on in here? Who on earth was messing with your head right now?"

Chihaya, who had taken the moment to drink her bottle of water, was surprised and almost ungracefully spat the water out. "W-What are you saying all of a sudden, Kana-chan -? "

"Chihaya- _chan_ ," Kanade began, putting emphasis on the word 'chan' – a warning to Chihaya that is, which meant she wanted to get down to business. "You are so distracted ever since I came in, you keep on looking at the door like you're waiting for someone. Who was it? Akito-senpai?"

"No! It's just – er… no, I'm not really waiting for someone – "

"Chihaya, you are my best friend since elementary school. Do you honestly think I would believe you when we practically grew up like sisters?" Kanade cut her off, looking stern and unforgiving. "I think I ought to know what's messing with my best friend's head for her to become so distracted like this. Now spill."

"But it's nothing too serious, and frankly I think it's crazy and ridiculous – "

"Since when were you not crazy? Come on, I'm listening." Kanade said matter-of-factly and Chihaya sighed, knowing that what she said was true. (yes, she's not denying it.)

"Oh fine." She looked down, her fingers twisting in her lap, winding and unwinding around each other as if trying to find the fingers which would lace around hers easily and hold them tenderly. She then realized what she was thinking and cringed inwardly at the mushiness of her thoughts. Geez! "Kana-chan… have you ever felt that you knew someone before… like, a long, long time ago… even though you just met for the first time?"

Kanade's eyebrows raised. Whatever she was suspecting about, it certainly was not this. "Like... déjà vu?"

She honestly didn't know. "Close. But I feel that it was something more than that."

It was something Kanade knew she could not joke about. "Hmm. Something must have happened if you are this serious. Is it a man?"

Chihaya let her shoulders lift and fall down once more in a gesture of a shrug. "Yes. It's… ridiculously creepy, Kana-chan. I just met him yesterday… and it feels as if I knew him. It was driving me crazy, Kana-chan, I felt like I was having an amnesia and I _should_ know him, or at the very least, remember who he is. But we just met for the first time yesterday!"

Kanade could see that she was dying to tell someone about it, but for obvious reasons, she couldn't point this out to Akito. "Have you tried talking to him?"

"That's the other thing, he was like, avoiding me or something – wait, you don't think I'm just blabbering nonsense?" Chihaya looked at her questioningly, eyes round in childlike surprise.

She tried to school her expression in a more I'm-thinking-about-it-look and not amused or curious, which she was, at the moment, come to think about it. "Well, you were always so crazy, but not to the point of having no sense at all. Why are you so surprised? You don't want me to believe you?"

"No I just – no, you don't know how I'm so relieved that you don't think I'm so ridiculous." Chihaya sighed. "I don't know what's going on, and to top it all off, I've started having weird dreams lately."

Kanade's ears perked up at hearing this. "Weird dreams? What, weirder-than-your-normal dreams?"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I'm just kidding. Go on. What kind of dreams?"

Chihaya raised an eyebrow disbelievingly at Kanade, who just chuckled. She sighed again. "I've started dreaming about myself… a creepy, beautiful version of myself. Wearing a junihitoe, mind you."

"Like the kimono you wore before you got into the accident?"

"Yep. And that's not all, Kana-chan. This beauty is always together with a man who seems to be a supernatural being or something. From the last dream I've had, he seems able to control the wind or something. And…" here she hesitated, not knowing how Kanade was bound to react to the other weird fact she was about to drop. "He has _claws._ Like… like he was a demon which existed in the Sengoku-Jidai or something."

Silence fell between the two of them, the ticking of the clock the only sound in the silence which sprang up from nowhere. It sounded ominous, enough to make Chihaya feel uncomfortable. "Um… K-Kana-chan? What do you – "

"When did you start having them?" Kanade asked, now serious.

Chihaya definitely noticed, though she refrained from commenting about it. "I'm not exactly sure… but I think I started having them even before I reached this room."

 _A meeting is fated. As it is, then it shall come to pass._

"So while you were still unconscious?"

Chihaya nodded, as they fell silent once more. Kanade appeared to be mulling things over, and Chihaya wanted to give her time to think about how she felt with the thoughts she had shared with her.

 _One of the chains binding people is Fate. The other is what we call Time._

"Do you… Do you think I should try… seeing a doctor?" Chihaya asked, breaking Kanade from her flow of thoughts.

Kanade shrugged this time. "What for?"

"I mean.. don't you think I'm being a little… crazier than usual?"

"You're just dreaming of weird things. I myself had those kinds of dreams once in a while. That doesn't mean it warrants a visit to a counsellor or something though."

Chihaya still felt unsure about it. "But what about that feeling that I must know that guy from somewhere?"

Kanade looked like she was weighing her response, which only made Chihaya apprehensive. Sometimes it felt like her best friend knew a lot more than she was letting on. "Everybody has that feeling once in a while. Almost like… we knew them from a _past_ life."

"What? Like a reincarnation?" She asked confusedly, feeling as if a light bulb just clicked somewhere above her head.

Lightning suddenly flashed outside the room's windows followed by a booming thunder sound, as if placing emphasis on that statement, almost making Chihaya jump a foot in the air, though Kanade remained leaning back and calm, as if it didn't faze her one bit. She didn't notice the knowing smile on the dark-haired woman's lips as she gazed outside the window. "What the…? It was so sunny earlier."

 _Time has started moving his hands once again._

"So… do I get to meet him?" She asked, drawing Chihaya's attention from what appeared like a sudden thunderstorm, muttering something to herself which sounded like 'global warming'.

"Huh? Oh, about that…" Chihaya trailed off, unsure how to word it. "I don't know. I think he was avoiding me."

"Avoiding how?" Kanade couldn't keep herself from sounding curious.

"He's my doctor." Chihaya said in way of explanation. "It was the first time I met him yesterday, he has been out the past few days, they say, after he performed my surgery. Saying he has caught a flu or something. Anyway, he gave off the impression that he doesn't want to have anything to do with me."

 _He did, didn't he?_

"And that… is something which will really bother people." She empathized in a sad tone, as Chihaya sighed.

"I felt like I did something wrong… I mean, he acted so cold yesterday. It was the first time we met and… though he looked genuinely sincere enough about wanting to check on me first, he also looked like he wanted to be just out of the room again."

 _He would, no doubt._ "Maybe because you and Akito-senpai looked so lovey-dovey that he couldn't stand it."

Chihaya blushed deeply. "No, of course not! I made sure to… well, keep Akito in line."

 _People are not always born with the same fate, no matter the lives they've lived. But Fate can be cruel when she wanted to be…_

"Interesting. I'd like to meet your doctor."

Chihaya rolled her eyes jokingly. "Ugh. I also wanted to see him again, Kana-chan, though I did just tell you that he was avoiding me and he's not going to – "

"Oh, he'll come." Kanade cut her off unceremoniously, in the manner of someone who was sure and was actually expecting it.

Chihaya looked at her, almost confused and suspicious. "You sound so sure, Kana-chan. You don't happen to have the power to see the future don't you?" She half-joked, half-asked.

Kanade laughed. "No. I don't have that kind of power."

 _I don't see it._

The model opened her mouth and was about to complain once more when someone knocked on the door.

"Ohhh. That may be him." Kanade winked at her, before calling out to whoever was knocking. "Yes, do come in!"

"Kana-chan, I don't think – "

The door opened, catching Chihaya mid-sentence, as the topic of their conversation strode in, accompanied by a nurse, who was the same nurse who nearly lost her temper with Akito yesterday. Chihaya was relieved to see that she was smiling at her. Apparently, she was not the one she was mad at, but a certain silver-haired man.

"Ayase-san. It's good to see that you are awake." Mashima Taichi greeted, barely noticing that she had a visitor today, eyes trained on her unrelentingly.

Chihaya wanted to cringe at his tone. _Yeah, sure. You sound anything but! At least try to act more cheerful, you dolt._

The more rational part of her mind dictated that she needed to remain civil and polite, but the model was never good at heeding it's advice. "Geez, doc. You sound as if you wanted me to stay unconscious." She said in the most even tone she could manage, not aware that Kanade was watching the two of them closely and looked as if she was fighting to keep a smile off of her face.

 _Somebody seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today._ "Not unconscious, no. I would very much prefer if you are asleep though." Taichi stared at her straight into her eyes, as he checked her IV fluid, just barely keeping the annoyance out of his voice. He _definitely_ looked like he would very much prefer to be somewhere else, Kanade noted amusedly to herself.

"Hmm. Maybe because it was easier to check on me that way?" Chihaya made no attempt at disguising her own annoyance. She hated to think about it, but she did _not_ like him ignoring her, and more than that she hated herself for feeling like this when she barely even knew the man.

 _What the hell is annoying her?_ "Because you will heal faster that way, Ayase-san." He responded matter-of-factly, irritation also seeping into his tone. "Sleep has always been the best method of speeding up the recovery process."

Chihaya opened her mouth to offer a scathing reply but Kanade decided at that moment to step in. "Fancy seeing you here, Taichi-kun."

They both whirled around to face her, Chihaya in confusion, Taichi with surprise. "Kanade? How… what… why are you here?"

Kanade laughed and stood up, embracing the much taller man who was still obviously surprised. "Geez, Taichi-kun. Does it really take a beautiful woman for you not to notice others in the room with you?"

"You knew each other?" Chihaya cut in immediately, more surprised than either the two of them. "Kana-chan?" She continued when they both didn't respond immediately.

Kanade then turned to her with a wide smile on her lips, but Chihaya was wondering why she could see something almost sly with the smile she had on, almost as if she was finding something extremely amusing with her and her doctor's situation. "Why yes, Chihaya-chan. This," she linked an arm against Taichi's, who stiffened in the contact, "is me and my soon-to-be-husband's closest friend, Mashima Taichi. He also happens to be Tsutomu's best man for our soon-to-be-wedding." She winked at her direction, though she knew that she had thrown the two into a mix.

Chihaya's jaw nearly reached the floor, in figurative terms of course, making Taichi itch to reach over and close it. She was staring at the two of them as if she had seen something related to paranormal for the first time in her thirty years of life. "What? Your _closest_ friend? How come I didn't know about him? I haven't even met him before!" Chihaya pointed out, obviously unimpressed with the turn of the events.

"I also haven't heard about her from you, Kanade." Taichi muttered in a low voice to her. "You could have told us if you actually… knew both of us."

Kanade was smiling to herself secretly, observing their reactions. Chihaya was obviously thrown off, her expression somewhere between surprise and reproach, probably due to the fact that Kanade had never told her about having a guy for a 'close' friend – who also happened to be the very person she was frustrated and confused with as she had told her earlier.

As for Taichi, though, well…

He was looking at her intently with a slight frown in his facial features, as if she was someone he was seeing properly for the first time. He was an intelligent man, even without his reputation and his ability itself, and Kanade was very well aware of that. It probably would not take him too long to piece things together; and she was looking forward to that time when it comes.

The warning bells were ringing inside his head. _Why didn't she tell me something like being friends with someone like_ _this person before? Granted, we are just supposed to be friends and I should not even give a damn about who she was hanging around with and who her acquaintances are, but still…_

 _It is not the right time. Fate always waits for the right time. This is why Fate and Time go hand in hand._ "You guys looked like you wanted to yell at me and give me a piece of your minds." She pointed out, making Taichi clear his throat and look away from her in favour of returning his gaze to the woman who had occupied most of his dreams the past few days, or at least, as her ancient counterpart did.

Chihaya was still staring at the two of them, or at least, to their arms which were linked together. It probably should not even affect her, but she found herself being positively _irked_ at this, though she knew that this gesture is just plain platonic and that her best friend was actually getting married to another man.

And she couldn't understand why she was even feeling so, in the first place.

"Well we didn't know that we were supposed to know each other. You could've let me meet him one time, Kana-chan." Chihaya tore her gaze away from the brunette, again giving her best friend a reproachful look. "Of course we're both surprised, especially since we're both supposed to be your secondary sponsors to your wedding and we probably should be working together to help you prepare for it."

 _Well I would not actually, willingly, help out. Not with_ you _there, anyway._ "She has a point, Kanade. Some warning in advance would have been really helpful." Taichi half-agreed with her though, even when he himself knew that it did not really matter if he knew that she existed earlier. His everyday mundane, quiet world would have still been disrupted either way.

Kanade crossed her arms, tapping her foot and raising her eyebrows at the two of them. "You people were blowing this _way_ out of proportion, making it out as if _I_ have planned all this." Her smile was playful though, as if she was pointing out the exact opposite of what she was saying. "I had actually planned to let you meet and introduce you guys to each other before the wedding itself, but Chihaya, my dear, you are both on opposite schedules and we were all so busy – there just wasn't any _time_ at all." She punctuated her point by a graceful gesture of throwing her hands up in the air and rolling her eyes mischievously.

Chihaya opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again in just a few seconds, as if thinking better of it. It was at this time that the nurse who was relegated to the background and watching them get lost into their conversation decided to speak up, seeing as they spent too long inside Ayase Chihaya's room and he still had to do the rest of his rounds. She cleared her throat. "Pardon me for interrupting such a wonderful reunion with your friend, Mashima-sensei, but the patient's check up…? You did mention you still had to do the rest of your rounds earlier."

Taichi was forced to snap back into reality. "Right, my apologies." He turned to face Tsukiko… er… Chihaya once more, meeting her eyes, for once not noticing that he had let his guard down completely and the multitude of emotions he was feeling was actually laid bare by his facial expression.

Chihaya jolted, surprised at the emotions she could see that were reflected in his amber, melt-you-into-a-puddle-of-goo orbs. The first thing she thought of was…

 _Why is he so… lonely?_

She was startled at the sudden surge of protectiveness she felt, and the regret and the deep surge of sorrow that all assailed her in one fell swoop that she was almost brought to her knees. Her vision whirled, unused to the feelings which were threatening to overwhelm her.

Her heart was _aching_. So much that she wanted to cry and let all the pain out. She clutched wildly at her chest, her auburn eyes watering. Why the hell was she feeling like this?

Why the hell does she feel as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest and torn into two, as if a thousand arrows had pierced it?

 _Kami-sama what is happening to me!?_

She had never been overly emotional. Ayase Chihaya had always made it a point to never let negativity get through her, no matter if she was being made out to be a vain, beautiful, airheaded woman, even if the rumours were, more-often-than-not, blown out of proportion and most of the time just made out to attack her and make her crumble. She had plenty of practice ignoring them and keeping her head held high.

But this, _this_ was different. She had never been this bipolar before. Granted, there were times that she wanted to break down of course, but it was not just triggered by a single, facial expression on another person's face.

The moment she saw the emotions swirling in his eyes though, it felt as if an explosion of sadness coupled with regret erupted inside her. She had this strong need to atone and apologize to him for something, and what exactly that was escaped her.

She didn't see Kanade turn to one side, features twisted to helplessness all of a sudden, as her chest heaved with each breath she took and she concentrated on clearing her vision. She felt as if she somehow got completely disconnected from reality.

Chihaya felt the nurse step beside her and place an arm around her shoulders, to help steady her. "Are you alright, Ayase-san? Are you feeling something painful somewhere?"

She shook her head in response, forcing a watery smile past her lips. "No I- I just felt crying all of a sudden. I don't know what's happening with me, really."

"Maybe you should rest more, Chihaya-chan." Kanade offered, as the model turned her gaze to the doctor inside her room.

"I don't know what was going on really, I have never been this… somewhat emotionally unstable before." Chihaya attempted to explain, her chest still aching – to which she was aware has nothing to do with any physical illness.

Even though he was racked with worry, Taichi forced himself to school his expression into a more professional, calm one. It would not do them, _him_ any good, if he allowed himself to worry for a person in a manner more than a professional doctor would, not when he swore to himself that he should have nothing more to do with her after this.

"I agree with Kanade, we should let you rest. Anyway I had just come here for a last check-up." He said in an even and cold tone.

Chihaya's head snapped up at hearing this, almost making him worry if she had given herself a whiplash at having done so. "What…? What do you mean…?"

"Your tests came back earlier than usual… and based on my observations from earlier we can actually let you get home already." He explained, after running a glance on the chart that the nurse has handed to him earlier. He looked up to her once more to address her properly. "If you want, I can sign the discharge papers already."

 _How – just like that?_

"But didn't you tell me you needed me to stay for at least two more days? How come I can be discharged already?" Chihaya asked, not hiding her confusion and panic.

Taichi raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "I was under the impression that you wanted to go home quickly. Doesn't that mean good news on your end?"

 _Maybe so, but I still have to check something about you!_ "Uh, it's just because you still need me to be under observation just to be sure that I am completely fine with the surgeries I just had. I-I mean, how can you be sure with just a day, right?"

"You have a point, but to tell you honestly, I don't want to keep on locking you up in here. Your colouring is good, and I _did_ observe you and your minute reactions ever since we've met yesterday. I am glad to see that there aren't any delayed reactions from you, and to have you stay here another day will just be a waste of good money. Besides, we also believe that patients recuperate better in their homes, and in the presence of their loved ones, so why not let you recover properly there?" Taichi explained, no longer meeting her questioning eyes and looking down once more to the chart he was still holding.

Chihaya knew and was sure that he was just avoiding meeting her gaze once more. _Why will you not look at me?_

"With that being said, I'll have to go now to check on my other patients. I hope you recover fast, Ayase-san. It has been… a pleasure meeting you." And it was. Despite of his qualms and his mixed feelings about her sudden appearance, meeting Tsukiko's reincarnation in this age was still something he considered as luck. He just didn't want to ruin her life once more by being a part of it. It was enough that he had managed to save her this time around. If wanting her to be happy in this era meant that he distances himself from her, then so be it.

His love for Tsukiko will be just that – a history. He had to accept that he was not the one destined to make her happy… and that if things had really changed, then perhaps Kenjiro's reincarnation is the one really destined to be with her.

Chihaya felt that he was saying his farewells to her, and she could not understand why it hurt her so. She felt as if she was going to regret more in the future if she just lets him go like this. It was already clear to her that there was something more to him than just being her doctor - not with her feeling so drawn to him and not when such powerful emotions had been drawn out of her at seeing such a simple expression on his handsome features.

To not do anything about it would be a mistake.

"I'll see you again, Kanade. Probably at your wedding day." He had already turned away from her, talking once more with her best friend.

"You're supposed to help out with the preparations though ~" Kanade responded in a sing-song voice, an amused smile flicking once more in her lips.

Taichi's response to her reminder was a soft chuckle. "I'll try to help out, though of course, I'm _not_ promising anything. Between my duties here and duties _there_ , which do you think will get the priority?" He asked rhetorically, a small smile curving his lips upwards.

"Oh fine. You are such a pain, has someone ever taken the time to tell _you_ that?" Kanade asked him outright in a jokingly honey-laced tone as he laughed this time and prepared to leave.

"So I've been told. Unfortunately, I don't care."

Kanade just clucked her tongue, but Chihaya sprang into action, seeing him stepping forward. She grabbed hold of his hand, her much slender fingers wrapping around his rougher ones. "Wait - !"

And then the strangest thing happened.

She was hit with a vision, her eyes widening as a memory flashed into the front of her eyelids.

She saw… herself. It was her… but not her. Well the woman looked like her spitting image, the same woman who she had seen when she had first started having weird dreams, again wearing a junihitoe belonging to another era. She was standing in front of a crowd of people who appeared to carrying all sorts of weapons, some torches – her arms outstretched, the sleeves of her kimono dangling to her sides. She appeared to be shielding something… or someone, once she had taken a better look. Someone was kneeling behind her, a man, who was clutching his arm and appeared to be delirious and almost unconscious.

They were in a cliff. Judging by their appearance and the things they were holding, they were from an another era altogether.

" _Please stop this! Do not harm him. He has never hurt anyone, human or not! He has not bewitched me either! I love him and this is something my heart has allowed me to feel!"_ The woman implored in a desperate but sweet tone.

Chihaya could hear the roar of the crowd, angry and bloodthirsty, dare she say so. For some reason, she felt as if she knew what was about to happen, and she wanted to yell at her to get away from them.

Just then a high-pitched scream cut into her distracted thoughts.

" _NO!"_

It was only then that she saw that some of them had fired arrows – aimed in such a way that it would hit the man she was shielding. Chihaya wanted to scream as well, but her voice seemed to have been stuck in her throat, she was unable to speak, as if someone had stolen her ability to do so.

Her vision-self had other ideas.

Vision Chihaya turned and threw all her strength into embracing the man she was shielding, forcing herself to receive the arrows. One, three, six arrows embedded themselves on her back, piercing through her kimono. She coughed out blood as she held the delirious man in her embrace, which, Chihaya now saw, was also bleeding and was badly wounded at his head and the shoulder he was clutching.

Chihaya wanted to tear her hair out and scream bloody murder at the murderous crowd. _How could they - !_

She turned to look once more at the crowd, and her blood stopped cold at seeing one of the figures lowering his bow.

 _A-Akito…?_

She couldn't believe it. Why… why was she seeing Akito in here?

Vision Akito was wearing what looked to be the nobles' robes in their era, silver hair turning a fierce, orange-reddish colour due to the torches burning all around him, half of his features were cast into shadow, but she could see the expression he was wearing – cold and remorseless. _"If only you had listened to me, Tsukiko. This would not have been your end. We could have been happy together. Fool. Fool!"_

 _Tsukiko? W-What is going on…?_

" _TSUKIKO!"_

Chihaya flinched at the nearly inhuman scream which resounded once more in the night. Just then, the breeze turned stronger, almost turning into what felt like a gale and just increasing it's strength by the minute that things started flying around, torches dropping, hats flying off. Everything started to be swept away – and the crowd started to panic.

" _MONSTER!"_

" _THE MONSTER HAS AWAKEN!"_

Chihaya whirled around behind her, breath catching in her throat, hand flying to her mouth at the scene unfolding in front of her.

The man has stood up, but he was glowing – his eyes twin points of unforgiving, eton-blue, his pupils reduced into slits. His hair lifted up and away from his face as he lifted his right hand, thick ribbons of compressed vapour wrapping around it, and the wind turning into what felt like a tornado as it increased its velocity.

A single horn appeared in the upper middle part of his forehead, along with a kanji writing looking as if it was being engraved into his skin, which Chihaya could just barely make out as the word 'wind'. She gasped, unable to believe what was she was seeing as she recognized the facial features of the man.

 _I-It can't be …_

 _But why couldn't it be?_ Her mind taunted at her. _You knew him. Why deny it?_

 _Because that's… that's impossible._

" _YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE."_

Just as the vision has suddenly started, it then faded away into nothingness, and she was staring into the amber eyes of Mashima Taichi, who was in turn, clutching her hand in his, his expression somewhere between anger and worry.

"A-Ayase-san?" The nurse started, Kanade standing off beside her, arms crossed, expression not betraying anything, not making any move towards her either.

 _And so it begins._

She was crying, and she was crying _hard_. What she had just witnessed was something she could not comprehend at the moment, but she understood the pain the vision had brought.

She made an attempt to understand it more though.

"W-What was that, Doc?"

But before Taichi could respond, she collapsed into his arms, unconscious.

* * *

 _ **I leave you to digest what had happened here and to speculate away. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. I'll try to reply as soon as I can.**_

 _ **Yes, all will be revealed in due time.**_

 _ **Thank you very much for the endless support. Please, feel free to share your thoughts about this. I take your comments to heart and it keeps me going.**_

 _ **Love you guys.**_

 _ **~~Michiko :)**_


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